An on-line scammer impersonated well-known news anchor, Arakar Jiwagit, also recognized as Kwang, and defrauded Thanasak, a former Bangkok Water Supply director, of almost 20 million baht via an investment in cryptocurrency.
Thanasak yesterday, accompanied by his lawyer Chidchonok Laminai, and information anchor Kwang, visited Police Colonel Chatchapund Klaikleung, Commander of Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau 1, at the Government Complex in Chaeng Watthana to file a criticism towards the perpetrators of the scam.
In early June, Thanasak was approached on Facebook by somebody claiming to be Kwang, the information anchor of Nation TV’s Morning Nation. The dialog moved from Facebook to Line and took on a romantic tone. The scammer started persuading Thanasak to spend cash on crypto. At Triple , a 20,000 baht funding yielded a four,000 baht revenue, which led Thanasak to speculate more within the rip-off with what he thought was a famous news anchor.
The scammer, impersonating Kwang, was energetic on Facebook and posted varied life-style content material just like the news anchor’s actual life. The scammer also communicated with Thanasak at instances that coincided with Kwang’s information reading schedule. Thanasak was additional satisfied it wasn’t a scam by video calls, throughout which a still picture of news anchor Kwang was displayed.
As Thanasak invested extra, the scammer claimed to also invest 3.four million baht and planned future trips abroad and charity donations with the trading income. However, when Thanasak tried to withdraw a few of his funding, he discovered he couldn’t, main him to suspect he had been scammed by the news anchor. In just two months, he lost almost 20 million baht.
Kwang, who is also a victim as her photographs and life-style as a broadly known news anchor had been used to deceive Thanasak, was unaware of the scam till last week when she was informed by her group while on a visit to Italy.
She instantly coordinated with her group to report the scammer and suggested her followers to be cautious of any Facebook account impersonating her as she not makes use of the platform. She also empathised with the victims and urged buyers to do thorough analysis earlier than investing.
Pol. Col. Chatchapund revealed that this was a Hybrid Scam, where the scammer communicates online, builds belief and affection, after which lures the victim into making an investment. He said that Thanasak had made more than 10 transactions, totalling almost 20 million baht, to greater than 10 bank accounts. The Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau 1 is now working with the related banks to freeze the related accounts and track the monetary transactions.
While it is unsure how much cash may be recovered, the police are doing their best to resolve the issue. In the meantime, they are urging the basic public to check the credibility of any investment opportunities and documents corresponding to firm registration certificates. The police also confused the importance of not believing, not dashing, and not transferring money to anyone they met on-line.
The police have discovered that, like in the case of a information anchor impersonator, Facebook is the platform most commonly used for scams and is requesting banks’ cooperation. They are also exploring potential actions in opposition to the sign towers along the border, as many of those scammers are hiding in neighbouring nations.
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