A 22-year-old Thai national was arrested in Bangkok on Tuesday for impersonating the Chief of the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) to extort money from people who had been victims of fraud online.
The former Grab motorbike driver was arrested at his home on Soi Hathairat 21 in the Minburi district of Bangkok following an arrest warrant issued on June 15th.
The warrant stated that Jumphol Phusand was wanted by the Criminal Court on charges of public fraud and putting false information into a computer system.
The fraudster was discovered via a complaint written on the CSD Facebook page, said Deputy Chief of the CSD, Pol Col Montri Thetkhan, at a press briefing on Tuesday.
The complaint said that Mr. Phusand was impersonating Pol Maj Gen Jirabhop Bhuridej, the Chief of the CSD, and had created a Line group to offer help to people who had been victims of online fraud.
Numerous people had paid the imposter between 3,000 baht and 15,000 baht to look into their cases. Some people had also been tricked into investing as much as 200,000 baht in a Ponzi scheme.
Another user in the Line group claiming to be Pol Lt Col Kasitdet, or Sawarat Boy (Inspector Boy) backed Mr. Phusand’s claims that he was the Chief of the CSD.
After learning about the Line group, the real Sawarat Boy filed a complaint with officials at the Technology Crime Suppression Division.
After his arrest, Mr. Phusand admitted to committing fraud and impersonating an official for the past six months. He informed police that he needed money to fund his gambling habit.
The suspect used his mother’s bank account to receive funds sent from victims in the Line group.
Police are expanding the investigation to discover if any other people were involved in the case.
Source: Bangkok Post
