A South Korean citizen hired by the Chinese to drive around Bangkok, sending SMS messages via a fake tower for a cash reward.

Cyber police in Bangkok have arrested a South Korean citizen who used a phony base station (FBS) to send fraudulent SMS messages to city residents. The suspect admitted that Chinese nationals hired him. This comes amid increased security measures on the Thai-Cambodian border, making it difficult to carry out cross-border fraudulent operations.

In the past three weeks, Thailand’s cyber police have arrested three suspects in a mobile SMS scam. The latest to be arrested was a South Korean national who claimed a Chinese employer hired him. Police Colonel Trairong Phiewphan, commander of the Tech Crime Investigation Unit, provided details of the arrest of the South Korean national.

The operation to catch the criminal was made possible by the collaboration of the cyber police and the engineering teams of mobile operator AIS. They tracked the vehicle used to send fraudulent SMS messages using FBS devices. Authorities found the suspicious vehicle passing through the Ekamai intersection on New Petchburi Road, heading towards the Asok-Din Daeng Road intersection, Pracha Songkhro, and Victory Monument.

Abnormal frequency signals were detected moving with the vehicle, after which it was intercepted on Asok-Din Daeng Road. The driver was identified as a 35-year-old South Korean citizen, Mr. Kim. His truck was carrying active FBS equipment, which is a modified radio telecommunications equipment that transmits signals at various frequencies to mobile phones within range.

The equipment was connected to a mobile power source, a signal distribution unit, and three mobile phones. When police checked Kim’s mobile phone, they found messages between the suspect and his Chinese employer via the Telegram app.

Kim admitted that he was hired to drive around Bangkok and send SMS messages in crowded places along specific routes, reporting back to his employer every 30 minutes. Kim admitted to carrying out the operations three times, from August 17 to 19, and receiving 100,000 won ($72) per day, although he was paid $550 for the first week of work.

Police have charged Kim with related offenses and are investigating whether his Chinese employer is connected to the previous arrests, as well as expanding the investigation into other accomplices. Police Colonel Trairong said the act qualified as organised crime and may have elements of different offences. If victims were identified, charges would include conspiracy to commit fraud.

If links to overseas criminals were proven, charges would consist of participation in transnational criminal organisations. Since FBS devices are not sold in Thailand, importing or possessing them also violates customs laws. FBS devices can change sender names to mimic legitimate messages by turning off the victims’ actual mobile network signals before sending the fake messages. Users can detect this when the phone’s signal rapidly degrades from 5G to 3G or lower for short periods of time.

Citizens should be wary of messages from mobile operators they do not use (such as receiving DTAC messages when using AIS) or messages containing suspicious links. “Scammers are back to recruiting people to travel and sending links to extort money as before, so I want to warn citizens to be careful. Remember, banks or shopping malls will never send links asking for personal information,” said Police Colonel Trairong. It is important to remember that such fraud schemes are also relevant for citizens of other countries.

Cybercriminals are constantly improving their methods, using both traditional SMS mailings and modern messengers to distribute malicious links and phishing messages that imitate bank notifications or messages from government services. Therefore, vigilance and a critical attitude to incoming information are key elements of protection against fraud in the digital environment.

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