Chinese Man Arrested for Using Deepfake Software in Crypto Theft

On September 9, 2025, Police Lieutenant Colonel Songpruet Sirisuk, commander of Immigration Bureau Region 3, led officers to arrest a 30-year-old Chinese national, Mr. Zhang, at a condominium in Pattaya, Chon Buri province. The suspect was under surveillance following a tip from the public about a Chinese man living quietly in the building with no apparent job but steady income and a vehicle.

Background checks revealed that Zhang's permission to stay in Thailand had expired and that he was wanted by authorities in Guangdong Province, China since 2025 on theft charges related to cryptocurrency fraud. Chinese authorities identified Zhang as the mastermind who invented and developed AI Face Swap deepfake technology. He allegedly worked with at least three others to breach the OKX cryptocurrency exchange platform and steal approximately 4.707 million USDT (about 162 million baht) from a victim. The scheme involved using deepfake face-swap technology combined with custom camera software to impersonate the victim, report the SIM card as lost, and obtain a replacement SIM. This allowed him to intercept OTP codes via SMS, access the victim's account, and transfer digital assets within seconds.

Immigration officers initially charged Zhang with illegally entering and remaining in Thailand. He has been handed to Pattaya City Police for prosecution under the Immigration Act of 1979, with coordination underway with the Chinese Embassy in Thailand for deportation procedures. Police Lieutenant Colonel Songpruet emphasized that the arrest highlights evolving criminal methods exploiting artificial intelligence and warned of tighter screening for foreign nationals illegally residing in Thailand, particularly those with international arrest warrants using Thailand as a hiding place.