Police Rescue Two Students Held for Ransom in Call Center Scam
Police rescued two university students held captive in a Pathum Thani resort by an online scam gang that forced them to bind themselves and extorted nearly one million baht through 24-hour video surveillance and threats.
Police rescued two students from an online call center extortion gang that held them captive via 24-hour video call and forced them to bind themselves in a resort room, extorting nearly one million baht. On July 15 at 1 p.m., officers from Pak Khlong Rangsit Police Station in Pathum Thani, led by Pol. Col. Patthai Phamornpibul, raided a resort in Lak Hok subdistrict following a report from relatives. The two victims—Tae, 21, a second-year aviation student, and Pleum, 22, a second-year computer science student—were found in a room with their limbs bound with tape. They had been tricked by the scam gang to download an application and were held under video surveillance while the gang threatened them and forced them to contact their families for money transfers totaling nearly one million baht within 24 hours.
According to police investigation, the scammers used VPN and international internet connections to contact the victims. They used CCTV footage to track the first victim from his dormitory to a resort, then to another dormitory nearby. When police officers arrived and identified themselves, both victims were terrified and disbelieving, as the scammers had warned them that fake police might come. Tae reported that the criminals initially called claiming to investigate suspicious banking activity and money laundering, then demanded personal information and asset details. On Friday at 3 p.m., they threatened to help him avoid arrest in exchange for money and instructed him to liquidate assets—he reported having a gold bar worth 60,000 baht. The gang continued extorting money until real police arrived to rescue them.
One parent disclosed that their son initially called excitedly saying he had received a scholarship to study abroad and needed to arrange a U.S. visa, later requesting 350,000 baht to be deposited in his bank account. Trusting their son's future, the parent transferred the money but grew suspicious when unable to receive documentation about the visa process and asked for screenshots of the bank application to confirm funds were still in the account.
