The topic of phishing has been discussed before, but I still want to ask a question about it. Let's not be too quick to think that it can't happen to us; I hope the same for others. I live in Thailand and recently visited a 79-year-old Belgian acquaintance who needs care. She told me that she has 400k Baht in her checking account and 400k Baht in another account for her non-o visa, and asked me to investigate why money is disappearing from her account.
My first question was what she buys online and how much she spends monthly on domestic help, which she has 24 hours a day. She said her pension had not been paid for several months, possibly because the life certificate did not arrive in Thailand or because she had forgotten it. When I looked at her bank statements, I saw that her pension was deposited every two or three months for the past year and that 90% of the amount was transferred to an unknown destination the same day.
The last three withdrawals were on November 17, 2023 (141k), January 2024 (162k), and March 13 (170k), plus some other unexplained amounts. Her account had decreased by 500k because she previously received her pension regularly. Together with an acquaintance we concluded that this was phishing.
Further investigation revealed that there was a request for money for someone's studies, while she did not know that person at all. An email was even sent to the bank asking why only 20k had been transferred instead of 25k. The bank's response was that there was no more money available. This lady has dementia, has to undergo leg surgery and is now short of money. The Kasikorn bank takes no action.
We have canceled her account and the associated debit and credit cards so that it can no longer be misused. We open a new account at another bank, where her pension can be sent, in the hope that phishing does not occur there. This story highlights the importance of caution with electronic payments. We are considering going to the police and filing a report against the bank, although we realize that this may not do much in Thailand. If anyone else has any suggestions, we'd love to hear them. We are only waiting for constructive responses, please.
Submitted by Driekes
The Kasikorn bank should be able to tell where that money went and to whom.
I would contact a bank head office.
And I would certainly file that report, but against the owner of the account where the money went.
I do not have the impression that the Kasikorn bank has done anything wrong.
Assuming someone doesn't accidentally receive money from the wrong account, the owner of the account where the money went has some explaining to do.
https://www.thethaidetective.com/en/ for all your investigations, we understand ICT
speak Dutch
“Consider filing a tax return”?
Don't think about it, just do it! The amounts have been transferred to another account number, so
there is (or was, if that account has been closed) a name linked to it.
You already mention a name of “someone who is studying, whom she does not know”, so a name is already known.
You say “that there was a request for money for someone's studies”: there is an account number linked to this, which can be quickly looked up by the bank. And where did you find that request? Was that a transfer?
If someone has withdrawn money from that account number at an ATM, there must be video footage of this (which will be kept for at least a year).
If it is phishing, then there is malware on the computer and the stealing continues, even if you have a different bank!
You must report theft by an unknown person to the police and report it to the Kasikorn branch and head office in BKK.
I would definitely report it. It's a crime, right?
Presumably the lady did something wrong, e.g. accidentally gave permission for something. Or been sloppy with codes. Criminals who engage in phishing generally consciously choose their victims.
But it remains a crime. The bank is not the criminal, but allowed it to happen to the left or to the right.
Feel free to name man and horse here. Which bank is this?
My stepdaughter was hacked on Facebook and the police are still looking for the (Thai) suspects. The police even had her bank account blocked.
So work is being done on it.
Dramatic for this woman. Perhaps better to return to her home country, given her medical situation? Anyway, now I'm getting involved in things...
How annoying for this woman and also for many victims of fishing mail. I work for an IT company and receive annual training on this and sometimes I still have to look carefully to see whether something is fishing or not.
This also shows that it is wise as you get older to find a reliable person to check the bill monthly if this is too much. Sooner or later we usually need help with this.
Fishing is also developing quickly and emails are becoming better and more professional. Always check the E-mail address, never activate anything in a link. Something that sounds too good, for example winning something, great offers, or taking action now, is fishing. Renew simple or old passwords, use a safe to store them, and use different passwords for each app you use.
The virus is most likely still on the PC, which may contain old security software. I would recommend ensuring reliable security on the PC.
And it's great that you are helping this lady.
French
I think you already gave the answer yourself and should check it carefully. [quote]
There must be someone very well informed who is a little less trustworthy than they give themselves to be.
The maximum transfer amounts can be set at banks with an alert e-mail.
For the rest, a non-offensive question, this lady is right up to date.
In short, first examine her daily lifestyle with contacts across the floor.
Quote
My first question was what she buys online and how much she spends monthly on domestic help, which she has 24 hours a day.
A fairly recent scam, according to AN, was the provision of a false electricity bill.
THE receipts are placed in PEA box, but with a QR code which ensures that the money does NOT go to PEA, but ends up in another account.
It seems to be prevalent in BK, but there doesn't have to be a law that it doesn't happen elsewhere.
You will still have to be careful when withdrawing money from an ATM. It may contain fake scanners and a camera. This skimmes your card data and the camera records the password.
Also protect your card by putting it in a metal case. Skimming is also possible when contacting a person. The person asks you for something stupid, but at the same time the person puts a skimming device over your handbag and hopes to be able to skim your card (credit card) in this way.
I don't know if it is a real way, because I think you have to get close to the map.
But I do take it into account.
Also, when you receive an email, think about what it is and don't just click on it. Just had one again, even though I hadn't ordered and my sofa is different. They expect you to click carelessly. So I don't do that.
There will be more messages like that in my boxes. In some cases, the emails are deceptively real. So think before you leap!
Then you also have the option of receiving calls. The bank calls because you have problems and they help you further, from shore to ditch. Surprising, because they know your telephone number, calling number known to the bank, your account number and even details ON your bank account!
You also have to be careful when downloading apps, especially when someone asks for it.
If you are divorced and had an account, close it. From my own experience, X suddenly started using the account for a loan. Account had been idle for YEARS with 0 euros in it.
At that time you also needed a partner's signature for termination.
However, it turned out that that had changed, never heard anything about it, and you could pay the bill YOURSELF yourself.
Contacted the bank, which stopped the application. Answer, must have been a mistake.
Of course, I found out because I received a message in the bank box about the loan. After all and/or.
I had certain thoughts at the time, but I just let it rest.
Bank, pretty easy oops attitude about this. OK never mind, eventually solved it myself, end of scam.
The best option is to file a report and track down the person the money went to
Bank staff cannot be trusted either. experienced it myself.. Bank branch didn't do anything about it. I was able to turn everything back myself.