Police Rescue University Student Held Captive in Hotel Room by Scammers

Udon Thani police rescued a college student victimized by a sophisticated call center scam operation on August 3. Senior officials led by Region 4 Police Commander Lt. Gen. Santirat Chainiramy, Udon Thani Provincial Police Commander Col. Thawatchai Tungpao, and Muang Udon Thani Police Station Commander Pol. Col. Pattanawong Chanpol announced the rescue and the investigation into the fraud and extortion ring. The victim, identified as Ms. A, received an initial call on July 31 from a scammer impersonating a mobile company employee claiming her phone number had been used in a fraud scheme. The caller instructed her to contact Nang Rong Police Station in Buriram and provided a real police captain's name but with a fraudulent phone number. When the victim verified the officer's name online and confirmed it was legitimate, she trusted the call and dialed the fake number. She was then directed to add a LINE account named "Nang Rong Police Station" and start a video call with the criminals, who had staged an elaborate police office setting complete with uniformed officers moving about and police radio sounds to establish credibility. The scammers then sent forged documents including arrest warrants, court summons, and asset seizure orders, falsely accusing her of involvement in international money laundering and threatening prosecution and asset seizure if she did not cooperate. Terrified, the victim complied with every instruction, cutting off contact with her family, keeping her phone and video call active at all times, and even selling her mother's gold necklaces, rings, and jewelry weighing approximately 2.5 to 3 baht with a total value exceeding 140,000 baht, then transferring all the money to the scammers. After receiving the payment, the criminals ordered the victim to use a ride-hailing app to book a hotel room in the Mak Khaeng subdistrict of Muang Udon Thani district, strictly forbidding her to leave the room or contact anyone, claiming she was under police investigation. Simultaneously, the scammers called her mother claiming her daughter had been arrested and owed money, demanding a ransom of 140,000 baht. The terrified mother, unable to reach her daughter, immediately filed a report at Muang Udon Thani Police Station. Police Sergeant Major Banthoen Thapyotha revealed that after receiving the report, officers advised the mother to negotiate with the criminals and attempt to speak with her daughter to confirm she was actually detained. However, the scammers could not put the victim on the phone, leading police to conclude this was not a physical kidnapping but rather "online detention" using phones and online systems to control the victim. Investigators then reviewed CCTV footage along the route and discovered the white pickup truck the victim used was merely a ride-hailing vehicle, not belonging to the criminals. The technical investigation team traced digital and social media data and successfully pinpointed the hotel room coordinates where the victim was holding herself captive. When officers arrived at the hotel, they found the victim alone inside the room with a tablet running a video call while the caller on the other end continued issuing orders and forbidding her from speaking with others. Officers took control of the situation, disconnected the video call with the criminals, and safely rescued the victim before her mother could lose additional ransom money. Police Sergeant Major Banthoen noted that call center gangs continuously evolve their tactics using real government agency information and data.