Thai police arrest Indonesian in Phuket wanted for $12.8m cyberfraud
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A Thai soldier stands guard near scam compounds, which the Thai military said were used for scam operations at the Chong Chom–O’Smach border crossing.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Bangkok - Police in Thailand have arrested an Indonesian who allegedly defrauded Americans of about US$10 million (S$12.8 million), Thai authorities said April 26, adding that they will extradite him to the United States.
The 33-year-old Indonesian man was arrested on April 24 at a luxury resort in the coastal town of Phuket after a tip-off from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Mr Suriya Poungsombat of the national immigration police told AFP.
The FBI had informed Thai authorities that the suspect left Dubai and travelled to the South-east Asian nation on April 22, according to Mr Suriya.
After his arrest, the man was sent to an immigration detention centre in the capital Bangkok and was awaiting extradition to the United States, he said.
“The FBI said he was wanted for committing fraud against Americans of about US$10 million,” he added.
The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Another Thai immigration police officer told local media that the suspect allegedly hired models to lure targets into phony investment schemes over video calls, dating apps and social media, and he managed the scams from the United Arab Emirates.
South-east Asia has emerged as a hotspot for cyberscam operations in recent years, with organised criminal groups using casinos, hotels and fortified compounds in the region as bases to carry out sophisticated online cons.
Cyberscammers have defrauded victims around the world of tens of billions of dollars annually, often through fake cryptocurrency investments and phony romantic relationships.
But fraudsters and their associates are also believed to have expanded outside the region.
According to a 2025 report from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, foreign workers in the UAE have been “lured into scam work in Southeast Asia”, suggesting “Dubai is becoming a global hub for recruitment and trafficking linked to the cyber-enabled fraud industry”.
The UAE, the report adds, “have been targeted as a base for individuals involved in the laundering of funds acquired through illicit online activity, many of whom have purchased property in Dubai”. AFP
