A Thai woman was arrested southeast of the capital on suspicion of scamming travelers booking quarantine stays at one downtown hotel.
The woman, identified only as Ammy, was part of a gang that Immigration Bureau chief Sompong Chingduang said today stole at least THB250,000 from six victims by posing as the Hopeland Sukhumvit 8 hotel online to collect payments for bookings and other fees. She has been charged with fraud.
Immigration investigators located her in Chonburi province by tracking financial transactions, including ATM withdrawals. A national ID card on display indicated the suspect’s name was Aphichada Norraphatana.
Sompong said the gang obtained customer information by gaining access to the hotel’s email. Neither the hotel nor its staff were said to have been implicated in the scam, which involved
Travel to Thailand isn’t easy. Now scammers are making it painful.
Three phones, five sim cards and three ATM cards were confiscated as evidence, including a card linked to an account that investigators used to track the money.
Ammy, who was also wanted in an unrelated fraud case in Ayutthaya province, said she was paid THB1,000 per day to pose as the hotel’s manager, communicate with potential customers and transfer illicit payments to what she described as “black men.” Some of the evidence documented in January by victims of the scam had included the involvement of Nigerian nationals.
Those victims included South African Nicole Johnston, a retiree living in Thailand who in January lost THB35,000 (USD$1,170) to the scam, who was present at today’s news conference.
“I’m very grateful. The officer who handled my case was very supportive,” she said afterward, adding that she thought there was little chance her money would be recovered.
Police said that they were looking for the others in the ring. Sompong said they believed at least two more people were involved.
Related
No suspects identified yet in Thai quarantine hotel scam: Bangkok police
Travel to Thailand isn’t easy. Now scammers are making it painful.
