BANGKOK, Thailand – Thai cyber police have arrested two Chinese nationals after intercepting a vehicle equipped with a mobile signal interception device used to send fraudulent SMS messages across Bangkok, April 30.
Police said the suspects were found with a “False Base Station,” a portable device that mimics a legitimate mobile network tower, allowing scammers to disrupt nearby phone signals and inject fake text messages containing malicious links.
According to Pol. Maj. Gen. Chatchapan Khlai-khlung, Deputy Commissioner of the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau, the case stemmed from joint surveillance efforts between cyber police and mobile network operators. Authorities detected abnormal signal activity resembling unauthorized mobile towers in several densely populated areas of the capital on March 11.
Following weeks of monitoring, officers tracked a suspicious vehicle moving through multiple locations. The car was intercepted late on April 28 in the Dao Khanong area of Thonburi district.
Inside the vehicle, police found two foreign suspects, identified as Jiang, 46, and Chen, 64, along with one False Base Station device and two mobile phones.
The suspects claimed they were unaware that the equipment was illegal under Thai law. However, authorities have charged them with unauthorized possession and operation of radio communication equipment, as well as setting up an unlicensed telecommunications station.
Police explained that such devices can temporarily disrupt mobile signals in nearby areas, forcing phones to connect to the fake station. This enables criminals to send spoofed SMS messages with embedded links designed to trick victims into revealing personal information or transferring money.
Officials warned that False Base Stations are increasingly compact and widely used by scam networks in many countries, posing a growing threat to public cybersecurity.
The suspects have been taken into custody and handed over for legal proceedings as investigations continue into a possible wider fraud network. (TNA)
