Cops bust Thai scam gang targeting Aussies
Police in Thailand have arrested 13 men, including several Australians, who are accused of running an online investment fraud that scammed Aussies out of at least $1.9 million.
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Police in Thailand have arrested 13 foreign nationals accused of running an online investment fraud that scammed Australians out of at least $1.9 million over the past year.
The arrests came after Thai police raided a luxury home in the province of Samut Prakan, which neighbours Bangkok, said Jirabhob Bhuridej, chief of the police’s Central Investigation Bureau, at a press conference in the Thai capital.
The suspects, all men, included five Australian nationals, six Britons, one Canadian and one South African, The Bangkok Post reported.
AFP senior officer Kristie-Lee Cressy said at the Bangkok press conference that at least 14,000 Australians had fallen victim to the scam.
“Shutting down this scam centre is a significant win for the communities of Thailand and Australia,” she said.
Mr Bhuridej said the Australian Federal Police launched a joint probe with Thai authorities last year into the alleged scam group, led by an Australian and a Briton.
The alleged scammers operated out of Thailand to con money from victims in Australia through online advertisements and phone calls to invest in long-term bonds with a promise of high returns, Mr Bhuridej said.
Those working at the house in Samut Prakan allegedly kept to Sydney business hours, starting work around 5am local time.
Clocks set to Australian time could be seen in footage in the rental house could be seen in
The group operated under the guise of legitimate financial firms, cold-calling Australians to lure them into the fake investments, The Bangkok Post reported.
Footage showed scam scripts taped to the men’s partitioned desks.
Officer Cressy said Australia had suffered an estimated damage of $4.45 billion from online scams in the past four years.
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