Student tricked into sending scammers 1.78 million Baht

BANGKOK — 12 September 2026, Thailand’s Anti-Online Scam Centre (ACSC) has rescued a 22-year-old female university student who was allegedly manipulated by a call scam gang into telling her parents she had received a scholarship to study in the United States before being tricked into transferring more than 1.78 million Baht .

The operation was carried out under the direction of Pol. Gen. Thana Chuwong, deputy police chief and director of the Police Cyber Taskforce, and Pol. Lt. Gen. Jiraphop Phuridech, assistant police chief and deputy director of the taskforce.

ACSC officials coordinated with the Crime Suppression Division Region 1 and Pathum Thani police to locate and assist the woman at a hotel room in Prachathipat subdistrict, Thanyaburi district, Pathum Thani.

When officers arrived, they found the woman in a frightened and confused state. She had reportedly been kept under continuous telephone control by the scammers.

The case began on 5 September, when the woman received a call from someone claiming to be a police officer from Muang Phichit Police Station.

The caller allegedly told her that someone had used a copy of her national ID card to open a bank account in Phichit province and that the account was linked to a money-laundering case.

The scammer further claimed that an arrested suspect had told police that the woman had sold a copy of her ID card because of financial difficulties and had agreed to let criminals use it to open a mule account in exchange for 10-20% of the proceeds.

Although the woman initially did not believe the caller, she later received another call from someone claiming to work at the headquarters of a telecommunications network.

The second caller allegedly said someone had used her national ID number to purchase a mobile phone SIM card at a shop in Phichit.

After she insisted that she had never opened the number, the caller advised her to report the matter to police to prove her innocence.

She then contacted the fake police officer again and was allegedly told to transfer 1 million Baht to a designated bank account so the money could be checked and used to verify that she was not involved in the alleged case.

Because she did not have the money, the scammers allegedly instructed her to ask her father for it.

She was told to tell him that she had received a scholarship to study in the United States but that she needed to place 1 million Baht in a bank account as proof of her financial status.

The scammers allegedly told her that this was only a verification process and that the money would be returned if the checks showed that she was not involved in any wrongdoing.

The woman believed the story and asked her father for 1 million Baht. She transferred the money into her own account before sending it to an account controlled by the scam network at 16:04.

The scammers then switched their communications with her to Telegram and allegedly instructed her to make five additional transfers between 7 and 8 September.

The transfers were for 9,806 Baht; 590,000 Baht; 16,000 Baht; 4,830.83 Baht; and 162,831.57 Baht.

The money came from her own savings as well as funds borrowed from relatives.

In total, she was allegedly tricked into making six transfers worth 1,783,468.50 Baht.

The woman’s father said that after transferring the first 1 million Baht, he became suspicious and checked whether the company allegedly offering his daughter the scholarship actually existed.

He found that the company did exist, but noticed discrepancies in information about its manager. The company’s website identified a woman as the manager, while his daughter had said the manager was a man.

The father tried to warn his daughter about the discrepancy and urged her to be careful. However, she reportedly did not believe him, left home and subsequently lost contact with her family.

Concerned that his daughter had fallen victim to scammers, the father filed a complaint at Khlong Luang Police Station in Pathum Thani and asked police to locate her and freeze the bank accounts linked to the transfers.

On 9 September, investigators traced the woman to a hotel in Prachathipat subdistrict, Thanyaburi district, and sent officers to assist her.

When officers found her, she was reportedly frightened and speaking incoherently.

Inside the hotel room, officers also found a number of old banknotes and coins belonging to her father, which were reportedly collectibles, as well as three gold items.

The woman was taken to Khlong Luang Police Station to give information and for further legal proceedings.