ACSC saves 5.6 million baht in 11 cases out of over 6,900 online scam complaints

The Anti-Cyber Scam Centre (ACSC) of the Royal Thai Police received more than 6,900 complaints about online fraud last week and managed to intercept transactions in 11 cases, saving 5.65 million baht for victims, the ACSC announced on Monday.

Pol Gen Thana Chuwong, deputy police commissioner-general and director of the ACSC, said that during the week of 16–22 November, victims filed 6,936 complaints, reporting total losses of 620.4 million baht to online scammers.

Compared with the previous week (9–15 November), the number of cases fell by 786, but the total value of losses increased by 183.72 million baht, Thana said.

He added that online sales scams remained the most common form of deception, accounting for 62.4% of all cases.

The ACSC successfully intervened in 11 cases, preventing money from being transferred to scammer accounts and saving victims 5.65 million baht, he said.

In one case, a 76-year-old woman in Prachinburi was tricked into buying fraudulent shares worth 1.57 million baht, but police managed to stop the transfer in time.

Thana said the ACSC also coordinated with police units to make several arrests.

For example, the ACSC tasked the Central Investigation Bureau with investigating and arresting 12 suspects and issuing 23 warrants after a former university dean was deceived into transferring nearly 2 million baht to scammers.

In Chonburi, police arrested four suspects who acted as owners of mule accounts while they were withdrawing 2 million baht for an online scam gang.

Thana added that the ACSC had found a growing trend of scammers impersonating police officers, calling victims and threatening them with legal action to coerce them into transferring money.

He warned that genuine police officers would never do the following:

• Call victims to ask them to add a Line account
• Send government documents, including summonses or arrest warrants, via Line
• Ask anyone to transfer money or hand over assets for inspection

“If such a request is made, it is a scammer,” he stressed.