The Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) has arrested a man for selling the personal data of two million people to online gambling websites.
CCIB chief Pol Lt Gen Worawat Watnakhonbancha said police arrested Padungkiat Somsoo, 27, a Phuket local who, since 2022, had sold the personal data of two million people via Facebook private groups.
Mr Padungkiat was arrested in Trang province. However, police also raided his home on Vichitsongkram Road in Kathu district of Phuket and confiscated his mobile phone, laptop, bank passbooks and data storage devices.
Pol Lt Gen Worawat said Mr Padungkiat usually posted an advertisement on a Facebook private group, which has over 100,000 members, offering collections of personal data including full names, mobile phone numbers, bank account numbers and LINE accounts.
The price starts at 500 baht for 100,000 names to 3,500 baht for two million names. Buyers often use the collections of personal data for marketing purposes such as sending text messages or advertisements to their contacts, he said.
Pol Lt Gen Worawat added that Mr Padungkiat also worked as an admin for online gambling websites. An engineering graduate, Mr Padungkiat started to run an operational system for online gambling websites last year.
Mr Padungkiat said he initially bought the personal data of two million people for 8,000 baht last year to boost his marketing plan for the online gambling website that he worked for. He later gave up the admin job and turned to selling personal data collections.
About 15-20 customers bought his personal data collections monthly, giving him an average income of 50,000 baht.
Mr Padungkiat was charged with violating the Gambling Act, Computer-related Crimes Act and Personal Data Protection Act. He was sent to the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau Region 5 in Surat Thani for further legal proceedings, said Pol Lt Gen Worawat.