Bangkok, Thailand – September 16, 2026 – PRESSADVANTAGE –

Siam Legal International, a full-service law firm based in Bangkok, Thailand, is warning Thai and foreign families in Thailand to be alert to escalating call-centre scam tactics, after a case this month in which a 22-year-old university student was tricked into fabricating a US scholarship story to extract more than 1.78 million baht from her own family.

According to the Anti-Cyber Scam Centre (ACSC), the scam began on September 5th, when fraudsters posing as police told the student her ID card had been used to open a bank account linked to money laundering. She was then contacted by people posing as telecom staff, who claimed her ID had also been used to register a SIM card in another province. Directed back to the fake officer, she was told she could prove her innocence by transferring 1 million baht to a designated account. Unable to raise the money, she was instructed to tell her parents she had won a US scholarship and needed to show a 1-million-baht balance as part of the process. Her father transferred the funds. The scammers then told her to cut contact with her family and stay alone at a hotel, where she made five further transfers using savings and money borrowed from relatives, bringing her total loss to 1,783,468.50 baht. Her father grew suspicious after finding discrepancies in the scholarship company’s registration details and reported his daughter missing, allowing police to trace and rescue her.

“What makes this case work is not one lie, it’s a sequence of them, each one built to stop the victim from stopping to think,” said Kittisak Sriparesri, Attorney-at-Law and Litigation Manager at Siam Legal International. “Posing as police or a telecom company creates fear and a sense of official authority. Isolating the victim from her family removes the one person likely to spot the story falling apart. We see the same structure used against foreign nationals here, often with a fake visa problem in place of the bank account claim.”

Siam Legal International says foreign residents, students, and their families should treat any unsolicited call claiming to be from police, immigration, or a telecom provider with immediate suspicion, particularly where the caller pressures a bank transfer, asks the target to lie to family members, or insists on isolation. Genuine Thai government agencies do not resolve criminal allegations over the phone or by bank transfer.

Anyone who believes they are being targeted, or who has already transferred funds, is advised by the firm to stop all contact and payments immediately, then call the AOC 1441 hotline, which operates 24 hours a day, to begin an emergency account freeze. A formal report should follow with the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau, since a criminal case under Section 341 of the Penal Code requires a police record to proceed. Evidence including call logs, transfer receipts, and messages should be preserved in original form.

“Recovery depends heavily on speed,” Sriparesri added. “Every hour a victim waits is an hour the money has to move further out of reach. This is where families need a lawyer who can deal with Thai authorities immediately, not after the trail has gone cold.”

Siam Legal International’s cybercrime lawyers assist both Thai and foreign nationals with emergency reporting, evidence preparation, and pursuing compensation through Thai courts. The firm’s litigation department, previously highlighted for its criminal defense experience in cases involving fraud and financial crime, works alongside the cybercrime team once a case proceeds to prosecution.

Siam Legal International has been providing legal and immigration solutions for clients in Thailand and globally for over 20 years. The firm offers a comprehensive range of services, including litigation, immigration, family law, business law, and property law, establishing itself as one of Thailand’s leading full-service law firms with a particular emphasis on serving the international and local community. Individuals dealing with a suspected scam involving a relative in Thailand can contact the firm’s cybercrime team directly for guidance on immediate steps.

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For more information about Siam Legal International, contact the company here:

Siam Legal International
Rex Baay
+662 254 8900
info@siam-legal.com
18th Floor, Unit 1806 Two Pacific Place,
142 Sukhumvit Rd, Khlong Toei,
Bangkok 10110, Thailand

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