Ex-bank employee nabbed for allegedly selling bank books to call centre gangs

A former bank employee has been arrested by police for allegedly buying bank deposit books from unscrupulous bank customers and selling them to call centre gangs.

The suspect, 32-year old Mr Natcha Phankumkao, was apprehended at his apartment room in Paholyothin Soi 32 in Bangkok’s Chatuchak district on Friday (April 20).

Pol Maj-Gen Surachate Hakparn, deputy commissioner of Tourist Police, said that Mr Natcha, a former bank employee, opened a Facebook account under a pseudonym and then established a Facebook group number about 100 members.

The group offered to buy bank books from unscrupulous customers at 900-1,000 baht per book with a condition that the customers must provide the group with their copies of ID cards, copies of their ATM cards with their passwords and SIM cards which were registered with their bank accounts, said Pol Maj-Gen Surachate.

Once the bank accounts have been checked to be valid, money will be wired to the sellers.  Afterward, the bank books together with the accompanied documents were sold to call centre gangs at between 3,000-20,000 baht per book.

With his banking background, the deputy commissioner said the suspect was well versed in opening and closing bank accounts and turned himself into a con man buying and selling bank deposit books for profits.

He warned that police had the identities of some 134 bank customers who sold their bank books to the suspect, saying that they would face legal action.