Two Ukrainian men have been arrested for allegedly using other people’s electronic card information to withdraw 400,000 baht (S$15,342) from ATMs across the capital.
The suspected skimmers Aleksandr Lupiak, 27, and Vitalii Svizhevskyi, 19, were presented to the press yesterday (June 8) at the Metropolitan Police Bureau along with 39 fake electronic cards, 16,950 baht in cash and two cellphones.
Acting Metropolitan Police chief Pol Lt-General Sanit Mahathaworn said the Rom Klao Police Station had been told by a private bank that two white male suspects were seen using fake electronic cards to withdraw money in the area. Police then investigated the case and arrested the two suspects as they emerged at the entrance of Soi King Kaew 54 in Samut Prakan’s Bang Phli district on June 6.
Further investigation helped the police locate the men’s rented house in a nearby housing estate, where officers found the 39 fake cards.
The duo reportedly confessed to the crime and said that two other compatriots were on the run, Sanit said. The gang allegedly installed cameras at ATM machines to read and remember people’s information, which they used to produce fake cards to withdraw money, Sanit explained. The Ukrainians would then send the cash back to their country and get US$2,000 (S$2,691) in return.
Sanit said the suspects had withdrawn cash 22 times from June 3-6 and got away with 400,000 baht. The police are hunting for another accomplice believed to be based in Lampang, he added.
