Thailand police have busted a massive fraud forex investment racket that led to the arrest of 20 Chinese nationals and 4 Thais, according to a report on Friday by local news outlet Chiang Rai Times. The arrests were made in northern Thailand’s province of Chiang Rai.

The local police detailed that the arrested Thais lived in the area, whereas the involved Chinese entered the country illegally. In addition, Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai are the bases of many Chinese criminal gangs due to the provinces' popularity among tourists and their proximity to the Chinese border.

An Organized Operation

The alleged perpetrators ran a romance and forex investment scam from an office behind the hotel from where they were arrested.

They created fake online dating and LINE, a popular chat app in Thailand, profiles by using fake photos collected from the internet. They first developed a relationship with the Thais and foreigners, mostly Japanese, and then lured them for forex investment on a fake Metatrader application.

The platform displayed fake forex rates, and after the victims had made their deposits, they were disconnected by the fraudsters, the police detailed.

The suspects received 25,000-35,000 baht a month for their forex scam, which they ran all week. It was an organized operation as the scammers worked from 9 am to 9 pm on weekdays and from noon to 5 pm on weekends.

Among the arrested were 20 men and 2 women. Moreover, the Thai police confiscated 224 mobile phones, 10 notebook computers, 10 monitors, and 10 desktop computers.

Furthermore, the arrested suspects are facing charges under the computer crimes act, along with the charges of public fraud.

The use of dating tactics to lure victims toward investment scams is not new. Several regulators, including Belgium’s FSMA, issued multiple warnings against fraudsters using fake profiles on dating platforms.

An Organized Operation

The alleged perpetrators ran a romance and forex investment scam from an office behind the hotel from where they were arrested.

The platform displayed fake forex rates, and after the victims had made their deposits, they were disconnected by the fraudsters, the police detailed.

Among the arrested were 20 men and 2 women. Moreover, the Thai police confiscated 224 mobile phones, 10 notebook computers, 10 monitors, and 10 desktop computers.

Furthermore, the arrested suspects are facing charges under the computer crimes act, along with the charges of public fraud.