Police rushed to stop 83-year-old woman from sending money to call-centre gang – but failed

Police intervention fails

Police from two Bangkok stations rushed to the home of an 83-year-old woman last week to try to stop her from transferring a large sum to a call-centre gang, but failed as the woman believed they were fake officers.

Alerted by a commercial bank, police from Phra Khanong and Udomsuk stations went to the house, located on the boundary line between the two jurisdictions, on the night of September 10. They tried to warn the woman not to send more money to the gang.

The incident was disclosed to the media on Monday by Pol Col Phumiyos Lekkla, deputy commander of Metropolitan Police Division 5.

Woman dismisses police warnings

Phumiyos said police found the front gate of the house locked, so they shouted to the woman, warning her not to transfer more money and insisting those speaking to her on the phone were scammers.

However, the woman did not believe them. She was overheard telling the person on the line that police had come to interfere. The caller apparently told her the officers might be bogus.

After trying in vain for a while, the police left and contacted the community leader to help persuade her. That night, the woman transferred 450,000 baht to the gang – her fifth payment.

Five transfers in a week

According to Phumiyos, the woman had already sent four earlier sums:

• September 3: 3.5 million baht deposited at a bank counter
• September 4: 400,000 baht transferred via a banking app
• September 5: 300,000 baht transferred via a banking app
• September 8: 300,000 baht transferred via a banking app

Her bank noticed irregularities in her transactions and alerted police.

Partial recovery of funds

Phumiyos said the woman later agreed to file a complaint at Phra Khanong police station on September 13. With coordination between the Anti-Online Scam Operation Centre (AOC) and banks, 2.5 million baht was frozen and returned to her, leaving her with a net loss of 495,000 baht.