Skimming gang suspected in latest Songkhla ATM heist
MORE THAN Bt600,000 has gone missing from the bank accounts of Bangkok residents, very likely at the hands of an ATM skimming gang, which withdrew the cash in the southern province of Songkhla.
Ten victims have lodged complaints with Phaya Thai Police Station. All of them used ATMs at Thai Military Bank’s (TMB) Phaya Thai branch.
“The bank assured me that it provides full compensation in such cases,” one of the victims, Anupol Puwapoonpol, said yesterday.
He suspected something amiss with an ATM at the CP Tower 3.
Phaya Thai Police Station’s deputy superintendent Lt-Colonel Thirasak Sriprasert said police did not find any skimmer in that ATM at the time of their inspection.
“Or perhaps someone had installed the skimmer but had already removed it,” Thirasak said.
According to an ongoing police investigation, withdrawals were made from the victims’ bank accounts between Monday night and Tuesday morning.
“We are trying to request recordings from the security cameras at the ATMs where withdrawals were made in Songkhla,” Thirasak said.
He believed the ATM-skimming gang had gathered victims’ information illegally long before they arranged the almost simultaneous withdrawals from all targeted accounts earlier this week.
“We are investigating the case further. The Bank of Thailand has also stepped in to help,” Thirasak said.
He added that his station might ask the Technology Crime Suppression Division to help as well.
Last week, dozens of ATM-skimming victims lodged complaints with Lumpini Police Station in Bangkok. The withdrawals were made in Russia and Ukraine.
Thirasak believes that incident and the one his team are investigating are distinct cases.
“The gang that withdrew the money in the South is likely to have involved Thai or Malaysian nationals,” he said.
