Thai Police have arrested seven people in relation to face mask fraud following four separate raids around the country.
The first case happened in Surat Thani where a stepmother and stepson team were apprehended following a warrant issued for their arrest by the Bangkok South Criminal Court.
The pair worked on Facebook under the username “Phukong Met” selling face masks. One victim had transferred a total of 1.46 million baht in eight separate transactions without receiving any face masks from the suspects.
During interrogation, the stepson confessed to using a photo of a police officer as the profile picture on the fake Facebook account to gain credibility.
He told officers that the money was used to feed his gambling addiction and for personal expenses.
The second case took place in Songkhla province where a 30-year-old woman was arrested for also using a fake Facebook profile to sell non-existent face masks.
She had used an alias profile with the name “Rakasong Khaituk” to sell masks at 480 baht per 50-piece box. However, once the money had been wired to her account, customers never received any items.
The investigation discovered the same woman had previously been arrested for fraud by selling clothing on Facebook.
The third case happened in both Bangkok and Sa Kaeo provinces involving a Thai man and two Cambodian nationals.
The Thai man who was based in Bangkok had purchased 403 face masks from the two Cambodian men in Sa Kaeo to sell on for hugely inflated prices.
The fourth case occurred in Bangkok and involved a man who was caught in Bang Phlat District for selling face masks online at inflated prices.
Source: Bangkok Post
