Scammers up ante with ransom demands

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Victims told to record cash pleas to families

PUBLISHED : 14 Aug 2023 at 04:30

Gangsters forced university students to film fake abduction videos that they intended to send to victims’ parents to demand ransom money.

The case surfaced after another university student in Lat Krabang district fell victim to the same trick and was rescued on Friday. Police suspect the call centre gangs operated from Myanmar and Cambodia.

Pol Maj Gen Panthana Nuchanart, deputy commissioner of the Immigration Bureau (IB) and chief of ️Police Cyber Taskforce (PCT) Team 1, yesterday said police had rescued another victim who was tricked into wiring money to call-centre scammers.

The incident happened on Aug 7 when one of the scammers called the victim, a third-year student at a university in Bang Khen district of Bangkok, and claimed they were staff at the Thailand Post Office in Songkhla province.

They told her that her bank passbook had been found in a package which was linked to a money-laundering activity.

Inside the said package were 12 Myanmar passports, nine ATM cards and eight bank passbooks including the victim’s, claimed the scammer.

The scammer then suggested the victim file a report to Songkhla police and volunteered to get her through the process, knowing that the victim was unable to travel to the southern province herself.

They later invited another colleague from the call centre to pose as the superintendent of Songkhla police station. The fake police questioned if the victim had received an unusual amount of money sent to her bank account and she found that a transaction worth 13,00 baht from an unknown bank account had been made earlier that day.

Pol Maj Gen Panthana said the scammers had sent fake documents of the victim showing her ID number and her full name, convincing her that they were actual police.

Being told that she was involved in the money-laundering case, the scammers proceeded to direct the victim to sign up for a new phone number and move out to a hotel room in Rangsit area in Pathum Thani before deleting all her social media accounts on her mobile phone.

She was instructed to sign up for a new Line account on her iPad and only chat with the scammers who were disguised as officials from the Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo). Her incommunicado state was constantly observed by scammers through video calls.

The scammers told the victim to tie her hands and ankles with duct tape and film herself as if she had been abducted. They later sent the videos and photos of the victim to her mother, tricking her into believing that the victim was kidnapped for ransom.

Pol Maj Gen Panthana said that once officers had arrived at the hotel in Pathum Thani to rescue the victim, the scammers immediately hung up on the call. An investigation showed they are based in Thachikek town in Myanmar.

Another case occurred on Friday. A second-year university student in Lat Krabang district was given the same script, but Thailand Post Office claimed the victim had mailed an illegal item to Songkhla province.

Later, the victim was asked to wire money from all of her accounts to the scammers as they claimed that they had to look into the transaction history of her bank accounts. They also demanded a 3-million-baht ransom, claiming that she was held hostage and her fingers would be cut if the family did not wire the money.

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That elusive pot of gold

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Gambling addiction fuelled by poverty, researchers find, writes Penchan Charoensuthipan

That elusive pot of gold

Social workers say gambling addiction among blue-collar workers is fuelled by social and welfare issues, not by an individual’s passion as many might have thought. NGOs and government agencies are working together to provide rehabilitation.

Asst Prof Pattamaporn Sooksomsod, from Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Rajabhat University, said gambling addiction arises from workers being paid too little to feed their family.

Most workers in factories work overtime, which takes away their free time for other recreational activities.

“Everyone has their own Facebook account. Just type in a few words and a list of gambling websites shows up. There will also be game plans for gamblers and 24-hour group chats for people to access online gambling. It only takes a few seconds after wiring the money to access the games,” she said.

Based on her research about the effects of online gambling among workers in the manufacturing industry in Ayutthaya, workers do not see online gambling as a problem. Instead, it’s their side income.

Many have set up limit such as not losing more than 300 baht per day. They often think the money they earn from gambling can contribute to their daily expenses. Still, few keep a tally of how much they have lost.

Players aim to make high returns from the games but they are more likely to end up heavily indebted to loan sharks. Once their financial situation deteriorates, the stress tends to affect their relationships, work and health.

The most popular online gambling games among workers include slot machines, the illegal lottery and sports betting, she told participants in the “Gambling Activities in a Daily Life of Workers in Manufacturing Industry” seminar, organised recently by the Center for Gambling Studies and the Women and Men Progressive Movement Foundation with support from the Thai Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth).

A glimpse of wealth

Asst Prof Tanit Toadithep, from Burapha University, said workers who gamble are often the family’s main breadwinner. They do not wish to spend their lives working in factories but would rather save a sum of money large enough to start a small business at home.

But most workers still live from hand to mouth. Many who work in industrial estates pay off pickup trucks or motorcycles by instalment because public transport is not available in the area. Gambling offers a rare ray of hope.

”However, the more they bet, the more they lose,” Asst Prof Tanit said.

He gave as an example workers in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC): when gambling addicts lose control over their betting, they will try everything to make a return. Eventually, they could end up losing all their money, breaking up with their partner and might even quit their job.

Assoc Prof Lae Dilokvidhyarat, president of the Gambling Rehabilitation Direction Division of ThaiHealth, agreed that gambling addiction among low-income workers is the result of poverty.

“We tend to think about gambling addiction as an individual issue but it is actually a social and welfare issue which requires work from various agencies to solve,” he said.

He proposed workers must be paid a reasonable wage which satisfies their life demands. Once they earn enough, the stress that poverty brings will disappear. Then, there will be no point in betting their hard-earned money on games that are impossible to win.

Suppressing gambling

Jirasak Lamlert, president of Nippon Steel Corp Labour Union, said most gambling addicts spend 5-10% of their wages on betting games. Instead of gambling, the union has tried to convince workers to save the same amount for family or household expenses.

Many employers in manufacturing have joined anti-gambling campaigns, as the outcome directly benefits business and union relations, he said.

Wongjan Janyim, coordinator of the Women and Men Progressive Movement Foundation, said anti-gambling campaigns sponsored by ThaiHealth offer counselling to workers addicted to gambling, and help them quit their habit.

Ms Wongjan said the network has labour unions to the campaigns. Around 70% of participants are now spending less money on betting and have started to save enough for their families, she said.

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Sea gypsies urge govt to save ‘sacred’ beach from developer

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Phuket hotel ‘disturbs’ sea turtles

Sea gypsies urge govt to save 'sacred' beach from developer

Phuket: Local activists are calling on the government to take back sea-gypsy ancestral land being leased to a hotel on Mai Khao beach.

About 20 members of a network for Andaman coast sea gypsies and activists petitioned the provincial office and MPs from the Move Forward Party (MFP) to save the land from commercial development.

Local heritage and the natural habitat of sea turtles are under threat, they said.

The petition was handed to Phuket deputy governor Anuphap Rodkwan Yodrabam and MFP MPs Somchart Thechathaworncharoen, who represents Phuket’s Constituency 1, Poonsak Janjampee, and Julapong Yooket.

Orawan Hanthaleh, a network member, said the area have been sacred to sea gypsies for generations, she added, noting the local community has worked with the authorities in the Sirinat National Park to preserve the land.

Earlier this year, a barbed-wire fence was erected around the area, with the authorities announcing it was public land rented by a hotel.

Ms Orawan said that apart from the ritual site, the area is where the community makes a living from fishing and where sea turtles lay their eggs. The network has issued demands to state ministries to tackle the land problem.

First, the provincial governor must review the permit granted to the hotel, order the hotel to remove the fence around the area and stay off the land until the dispute is resolved, it said.

Second, the Finance Ministry, which oversees the use of the public land, must immediately suspend the lease of the land as hotel operations may threaten the sea turtles and the sea gypsies’ way of life, it said.

Third, the Culture Ministry must declare the area a protected area for the preservation of indigenous values, it said.

Fourth, the media and the general public must keep an eye on the area to prevent a land grab, it said.

Ms Orawan said all relevant miniastries must work together to resolve the issue within 15 days or the network will protest in Bangkok.

Mr Anuphap yesterday said the provincial office will ask the Thalang district chief and the local treasury office about the use of the land, how it was leased and its impact on the local community.

The network’s petition will be forwarded to the provincial governor, he added.

Meanwhile, Mr Somchart said the issue will be raised in parliament with the Finance Ministry and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment called in to explain.

Mr Poonsak said the land is culturally sensitive. Before any construction can be approved, it must pass an environmental impact assessment, he said.

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New Zealand’s youth vaping crisis clouds smoke-free future

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Parents in Auckland took to the streets to protest vape stores opening up near schools
By Shaimaa Khalil
BBC News, Auckland

“It got more accessible for me, so I got addicted. Everyone around me was vaping at the time.”

Coco, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, was 12 when she vaped for the first time. She’s now 15 and trying to quit.

“She was angry,” she said, as she smiled at her mother sitting nearby. “My phone was taken away from me.”

Coco had never brought the vapes home, but as she grew more used to the habit, she also wanted to vape after school.

“What attracted me to it was more the flavours like ‘Peach ice’ or ‘Lychee-grape’. You can find vapes inspired by video games, they come in bright colours and flavours like bubble gum and candy floss,” she said.

It’s illegal to sell vapes to under 18s in New Zealand, but Coco said that never stopped her or her friends.

“The older kids sell to the younger kids and lots of shops don’t check IDs,” she said.

“You can just walk in there and say ‘I want strawberry, raspberry, watermelon’ and they’ll sell it to you. You can even go in your uniform and they just don’t say anything,” she added.

New Zealand is on target to becoming smoke-free by 2025. This means being cigarette and tobacco free and that’s where vaping comes in. For long-term adult smokers, it’s seen as a less harmful alternative but the flipside to that is the exponential rise and accessibility of vaping to teenagers and at times younger children.

According to data released last year, the number of teenagers in New Zealand who vaped regularly had tripled between 2019 and 2021.

The government has defended vaping, arguing that evidence is growing that vaping can help people quit smoking. But at the same time it has acknowledged the sharp rise in youth vaping, and has implemented new rules.

The new regulations include banning most disposable vapes, not allowing new vape shops within 300m (900ft) of any schools, and enforcing generic flavour descriptions. There are no rules however to regulate the vast variety of the flavours themselves.

High school principal Vaughan Couillault said vape pens have become a lifestyle object for students

Vaughan Couillault, principal of Papatoetoe High School in South Auckland and president of the Secondary Principals’ Association of New Zealand, has a number of confiscated vape pens in his office.

“Strawberry ice-cream” reads one of the labels on a disposable vape that looks like red lipstick. “Pineapple ice” was another that looks like a bright yellow lighter.

“‘Pineapple ice’ is not targeting a person who’s been smoking for 30 years,” Mr Couillault said.

He has witnessed first-hand how schools have become the epicentre of vaping – a lot of which he says is aimed at youngsters.

“It’s a lifestyle object. They’ll have a phone in one pocket and a vape on the other. It’s sleek. It looks modern. In terms of a product and marketing perspective, some genius work has been done,” he said.

“But it’s not helping young people. It might be helping people get off smoking, but there’s far too many young people who never would’ve picked up or thought about picking up a cigarette who now have two or three vapes,” he added.

This is now the habit of choice for millions of young people around the world.

“There are probably more teens that do vape than don’t at school, and they pack out the bathrooms,” Coco said. “And when the colourful flavours came out, that just got every kid on it.”

Marni Wilton said many vape shops had popped up recently around her Auckland suburb close to her sons’ local schools.

“Whichever gates the kids come out of there’s a vape shop,” she said, pointing to a store just 60 metres away from a primary school.

Marnie Wilton, co-founder of Vape-Free Kids NZ, said the new rules don't go far enough to help children

Like many mothers, Ms Wilton is worried about how prevalent vaping has become. She co-founded a voluntary group called Vape Free kids with other equally concerned parents.

Ms Wilton said the new government regulations fail to address the problem: “This absolutely doesn’t go far enough to help our children.”

“We have over 7,500 vape shops in New Zealand now. The new laws do nothing to affect the existing stores that are already built. So many are close to our schools, our playgrounds – they’re in those safe spaces,” she added.

Neighbouring Australia has taken a hard-line approach, moving to ban recreational vaping and making it prescription only.

Ben Youdan, who has worked in tobacco control and campaigning for nearly 20 years both in the UK and New Zealand, said banning vaping only drives it to the black market rather than get young kids off it.

“It’s a phenomenon that is happening whether you ban it or not,” he added.

A young person holds a collection of multi-coloured vapes

Getty Images

Mr Youdan is now director of Ash NZ, a lobby group campaigning for a smoke free New Zealand. He said when discussing vaping one should not lose sight of the bigger picture.

“There’s no doubt that our smoking rates have benefited hugely from tens of thousands of people switching from smoking to vaping. We’ve seen smoking rates here drop by a third in the last two or three years. It really is unprecedented,” he says.

Mr Youdan acknowledged that a by-product of that was the “explosion of the vape market”.

“We’ve seen a lot of vape shops that are about ‘making money quick’ rather than to responsibly support adult smokers quit smoking. We allowed that to happen by being far too slow to regulate the vaping market,” he said.

He added that while a number of youths have become vape-dependent and need to be treated, there’s a large spectrum of teens who are also experimenting. “Not all kids are addicted,” he said.

Around the world, it’s become a tough balance to strike: parents and families who want to see fewer youngsters vaping, and governments who want to see fewer adults smoking.

One thing is for certain: it may have started as a solution to cigarettes, but vaping has now created its own problem.

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55 killed in Bangladesh floods in August: Officials

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Refugee Commissioner Mizanur Rahman said four Rohingyas were killed, including a child and her mother who were buried under a landslide. “We have relocated around 2,000 people to safe places who are at risk of landslides in the camps,” he told AFP. Hundreds of villages were swamped in Chittagong, Bangladesh’sContinue Reading

Safeguarding reserves ‘not easy to understand’, George Goh and Tan Kin Lian yet to prove they do: Ng Kok Song

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He said that his 45 years’ experience in helping to build the reserves thus qualifies him to understand the “intricacies of the reserves”. “I think Minister Tharman also understands, but it is something which I think other candidates will have to prove, that they have a sufficient grasp of theContinue Reading

Protesters slam Pheu Thai, Bhumjaithai for alliance with military parties

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PUBLISHED : 13 Aug 2023 at 20:09

Protesters slam Pheu Thai, Bhumjaithai for alliance with military parties
A protestor splashes paint in front of the Bhumjaithai Party headquarters on Phahon Yothin Road in Bangkok on Sunday evening. (Photo: Varuth Hirunyatheb)

A group of protestors, mostly on bicycles and motorcycles, rallied in front of Pheu Thai and Bhumjaithai party headquarters on Sunday evening to denounce their efforts to form the next government with military-linked parties.

People using about 50 vehicles first gathered at the BTS Mo Chit station on Phahon Yothin Road at about 1.30pm. Rally leaders criticised both parties for potentially teaming up with political parties connected to the May 2014 coup d’etat.

About an hour later they moved to the Bhumjaithai Party headquarters on the same road.

The protesters arrived at the head office at about 3pm. It was closed and guarded by police.

Protesters there criticised Bhumjaithai’s policies related to Covid-19 and cannabis decriminalisation. They scattered leaftlets, splashed paint and attached glue traps normally used to trap mice. Bhumjaithai leader Anutin Charnvirakul is also known by his nickname “Noo” (mouse in Thai).

The demonstrators then moved to the Pheu Thai headquarters on Phetchaburi Road at about 4.45pm. The place was also closed.

There they dumped and destroyed Pheu Thai souvenirs including stickers, cups, calendars and shirts. They also demanded Pheu Thai restore its coalition partnership with the election-winning Move Forward Party.

Pheu Thai came second in the May 14 general election with 141 House seats and Bhumjaithai came third with 71 seats. Both announced their joint effort to form the next government after Pheu Thai withdrew from its previous coalition alliance with Move Forward which won 151 House seats.

Demonstrators move towards the headquarters of the Bhumjaithai Party on Phahon Yothin Road on Sunday evening. (Photo: Varuth Hirunyatheb)

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