14 Thais arrested after online job scam lures victims to Poipet to open mule accounts

2026-02-19 - 03:03

SA KAEO — 19 February 2026, Fourteen Thai nationals were arrested after allegedly being lured by an online job scam that took them across the border to Cambodia, where they were forced to open mule bank accounts before being sent back into Thailand, authorities said. According to the Burapha Task Force, troops under Col. Chainarong Kasee, commander of Task Force 12 in Aranyaprathet, were conducting a late-night patrol to prevent illegal crossings near a natural border route through a sugarcane field between checkpoints 53 and 54 in Ban Non Phatthana, Moo 13, Phan Suek subdistrict, Aranyaprathet district. The area is about 570 m from the Thai-Cambodian border. During the operation, officers arrested 14 Thai nationals — nine men and five women — who had illegally entered Thailand. No guides were found at the scene. Arrested individuals seen moving across a natural section along the border Initial questioning indicated the group had applied for jobs advertised in a Facebook group promising unusually high pay. They travelled separately to Aranyaprathet between 10 and 14 February 2026 and stayed overnight at a hotel in the district. They were then taken across the border via a natural crossing to Poipet, Cambodia. Upon arrival, the victims said they were detained in a three- to five-storey building. Their national ID cards, mobile phones and SIM cards were confiscated. The suspects allegedly used their personal data to open online bank accounts and forced them to scan their faces through banking applications to verify the accounts. After the accounts were opened, the group was sent back into Thailand through a natural border route. They were told they would not be charged any fees to return. All 14 were taken to Ranger Company 1204 for further questioning before being handed over to investigators at Khlong Nam Sai Police Station for background checks and legal proceedings. Authorities warned the public to exercise caution when applying for jobs via social media, particularly advertisements promising unrealistically high income or requiring illegal cross-border travel. Officials said such offers may be part of transnational scam operations and could result in personal data being misused. Officers line up suspects for a photograph, a standard practice in Thailand