TAK, Thailand – Cybercrime police have arrested a 20-year-old man accused of persuading schoolchildren to open bank accounts for use by online investment scammers, with investigators linking the accounts to five cases involving losses exceeding 675,000 baht.
The suspect, identified as Thiwakorn, was arrested under a Mae Sot Provincial Court warrant dated October 12, 2026, following a complaint from the parents of a 15-year-old Mathayom 2 student in Mae Sot district, Tak province.
Investigators said the suspect approached the student and offered 2,500 baht to borrow his bank account, claiming it would be used to receive money. He inserted the student’s SIM card into a phone he had prepared, installed a mobile banking application and borrowed the student’s national ID card, allegedly using the information to open two additional online bank accounts.
All three accounts were subsequently linked to complaints from victims of online investment scams. Police identified five case IDs involving combined losses of more than 675,000 baht.
According to preliminary questioning, Thiwakorn said he had been recruited by a man through a video call and was paid approximately 10,000 baht per account before passing phones with registered banking applications to other members of the operation.
Police said the suspect allegedly approached groups of young people gathering at night, befriended them and persuaded them to open bank accounts in exchange for money. Investigators believe dozens of students and members of the public may have been recruited.
He faces a charge of arranging, procuring, advertising or publicising the buying, selling, renting or lending of deposit accounts, electronic cards or electronic money accounts for use in technology-related or other criminal offences. The Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau said investigations were continuing to identify other people involved and those allegedly directing the operation.
Police Commissioner-General Pol. Lt. Gen. Thinkorn Rangmat urged parents to warn children against allowing others to use their bank accounts, identity cards, ATM cards, SIM cards or mobile banking applications in exchange for payment, even when the offer is presented as part-time work.
Young people should never share personal information, passwords or one-time passwords (OTPs), or scan their faces to authorise transactions at the request of suspicious individuals. Anyone who suspects an account has been misused should contact their bank and report the matter to police promptly. The Anti-Online Scam Operation Centre can also be reached on hotline 1441 around the clock.
