Gamers in Thailand Targeted by Online Scammers

Gamers in Thailand are being warned to be mindful of unscrupulous schemes by scammers that aim to rob them of their money and their digital identity.

The warning was issued by Thailand’s national police chief as they embark on a campaign to alert online gamers of new forms of technological crime targeting them.

Police have nabbed many fraudsters but many others continue to prey on unsuspecting players.

Online scammers have caused damage to victims and even harmed them physically Pol Gen Suwat Jongyodsuk told a press briefing.

He said a lot of times, scammers will contact fellow game players — who are mostly young — and offer to extend their online play time or send them items in the game in exchange for nude photos.

Several gamers reported wiring money to scammers but never receiving anything in return.

As part of the scam, the scammers claimed they could top up players’ accounts at a discount, but they would need their user names and passwords to do so. Identity theft has resulted from the practice, he said.

There have also been cases of scammers posing as representatives of a major gaming company offering rewards to a gamers store. As a result, they would phish their victims’ personal information and use it to commit fraud against them.