Some Thai ATM users are getting unpleasant surprises when they check their account balances. PATTARAPONG CHATPATTARASIL
By Terry Fredrickson
Police say a second ATM skimming gang, this one Malaysian, is working in Thailand after 12 Bangkok customers had their money withdraw in the South.
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Police suspect Malaysian hackers behind ATM scams
Saritdet Marukatat
Police are tracking a Malaysian gang believed behind the latest theft of money from people using bank ATMs in Bangkok after evidence showed that their money had been withdrawn from ATMs in the southern provinces.
The cash withdrawal from the account of Anupol Puwapulpol, one of the 12 victims was made by someone using a counterfeit ATM card in Songkhla. Other victims had their money siphoned from ATMs in Surat Thani, Pol Col Sathit Prom-uthai, of the Economic Crime Division, said.
In total, 700,000 baht was stolen from their bank accounts.
All live and work in Bangkok and suspect that an ATM owned by Thai Military Bank (TMB) installed at CP Tower 3 in Ratchathewi district of Bangkok was the machine targeted by the thieves They filed complaints with Phaya Thai police on Tuesday.
There are two groups of hackers operating in Thailand, Pol Col Sathit said. One group is based in eastern Europe and former Soviet Union countries, and the other is based in Malaysia.
"European gangs use Thailand as a base to withdraw money after skimming the ATM cards of Europeans, but they also hack Thais too, as in this case,'' Pol Col Sathit said on an RS television programme on Thursday.
He referred to another case on Nov 7, when a skimming device attached to a Bangkok Bank ATM machine in front of the Apollo building on Witthayu Road in Bangkok's downtown Pathumwan district stole card users' information. The criminals used the information to withdraw over 1.3 million baht from the accounts of 78 people who had used the ATM machine. The withdrawals were traced to the Ukraine.
The withdrawals exposed last Tuesday were by a Malaysian gang, and they normally are ethnic Chinese, Pol Col Sathit said.
"We are investigating by starting from the place where the money was withdrawn,'' he added.
Pol Col Sathit advised ATM users to regularly change the PIN they use for withdrawals, to safeguard their card and their money and avoid suddenly learning it has all disappeared
Mr Anupol, an executive of an advertising agency, said that he and 12 colleagues had used the same ATM machine, and money was stolen from their accounts. The last time he used the ATM was on Nov 1.
Mr Anupol said he was unaware of the scam until he went to a machine to update his passbook on Tuesday.
"I updated the passbook on that day. The machine was printing several transactions but I didn't realise something was wrong. I thought the long list was because I don't update it that often,'' he told the TV programme.
"I was shocked after it was finished. My money was gone,'' he said.
Mr Anupol can withdraw up to 200,000 baht at a time from his ATM card, and he lost 400,000 baht in total.
''They were very smart '' he said.
"They withdrew 200,000 baht in several transactions within two minutes before midnight, and another 200,000 one minute after midnight,'' he added. That was between the last minutes of Monday and first few minutes of Tuesday.
Hackers often hide a very small camera over the keypad of the ATM machine to record the PIN and install a slim skimmer on the keyboard to record the account information, which is later copied to a fake card used to steal the money.
Mr Anupol suggested ATM users withdraw money from a machine inside a building instead of outside, where it could be more easily tampered with, and regularly update their passbooks.
"The best way is to go the traditional way, by walking in to the bank to do transactions '' he said.
"The problem is hackers never stop here. They are high-tech guys,'' he said. ''We never know what'll come next.''
TMB said all money siphoned from customers' accounts had been refunded after the victims presented the bank with copies of complaints they filed with police.
Vocabulary
advise: to tell somebody what you think they should do in a particular situation - แนะนำ, แจ้ง
avoid: to try to prevent something from happening - หลีกเลี่ยง
base: a place from where an activity can be planned or controlled - ฐานที่มั่น
based: where the main work of an organisation, business, etc. is done or controlled - ซึ่งเป็นศูนย์กลาง
cash: money in the form of notes or coins - เงินสด
complaint: when someone says that something is wrong or not satisfactory - การร้องเรียน
counterfeit: illegally copied in order to trick people - การปลอมแปลงเอกสาร
device: a machine or piece of equipment that does a particular job - อุปกรณ์ เครื่องมือ เครื่องจักร
disappear: to no longer exist; to no longer be in use - หายไป, สาบสูญ, สูญหาย
ethnic: of a group of people with the same culture or traditions - กลุ่มชาติพันธุ์
evidence: facts statements or objects that help to prove whether or not someone has committed a crime - หลักฐาน
exposed: made known; uncovered - เปิดเผยต่อ
fake: made to look or seem like something real to trick people - ปลอม, เทียม, เก๊
file: to take official action like making a complaint - ยื่น, ยื่นคำร้อง
hacker: a person who secretly finds a way of looking at and/or changing information on somebody else's computer system without permission - ผู้ที่มีความชำนาญในการใช้คอมพิวเตอร์ไปในทางที่ผิดกฎหมาย เช่น แอบขโมยข้อมูลจากคอมพิวเตอร์ในเครือข่าย
investigate: to try to find out the facts about something in order to learn the truth about it - ตรวจสอบหาความจริง
keypad: the set of keys for operating a computer or typewriter; a small set of buttons with numbers on used to operate a telephone, television, etc; the buttons on the right of a computer keyboard - แป้นพิมพ์, กลุ่มแป้นพิมพ์ที่จัดไว้เป็นกลุ่ม
normally: usually; in normal circumstances - โดยปกติ, ตามปกติ
operating: carrying out an activity - ดำเนินการ
realise: to know about - ตระหนัก รู้
refund: to give back an amount of money that was paid out - คืนเงิน
regularly: done or happening often, especially with the same time and space in between each activity and the next - เป็นประจำ, เสมอๆ
safeguard: to protect something/somebody from loss, harm or damage; to keep something/somebody safe - ป้องกัน, ปกป้อง, คุ้มครอง, อารักขา
scam: a dishonest plan, especially for getting money - กลโกง, แผนร้าย
shocked: very surprised and upset - ตกใจ
siphon: to take away from - ดูดออก
skim: to use a piece of equipment to secretly obtain information from a electronic device like an ATM - ขโมยข้อมูลด้วยเครื่องดักข้อมูล
skimmer device: a piece of equipment to secretly obtain information from a electronic device like an ATM - เครื่องดักข้อมูล
slim: thin, in a way that is attractive - ผอมเพรียว
smart: intelligent, clever - ฉลาด
suggest: to mention an idea or a plan for somebody else to think about - เสนอ, เสนอแนะ
suspect: to believe that something is true, especially something bad - สงสัย, เป็นที่สงสัยว่า
tamper with: to try to change something that should not be changed - โน้มน้่าว ให้สินบน
target: to deliberately try to attack someone or something - เป้าหมาย
theft: (the act of) dishonestly taking something which belongs to someone else and keeping it - การลักขโมย
thieves: people who dishonestly take something that belongs to someone else and keep it - ขโมย
trace: to discover the cause or origin of something by examining the way in which it has developed - สืบหาร่องรอย
track: to try to follow and find someone or something - ตามรอย
traditional: things (buildings, clothes, music, customs, etc.) that have been part of a country or society for a long time - แบบดั้งเดิม, เป็นประเพณี
transaction: a business dealing - การติดต่อทางธุรกิจ
unaware: not understanding or realising something - ซึ่งไม่รู้ตัวมาก่อน
unpleasant: not pleasant or comfortable - ไม่เป็นที่พอใจ,ไม่สนุก,ไม่ราบรื่น
update: to get or give the most recent information or news about something - ให้ข้อมูลใหม่ๆ
victim: someone who has been harmed, injured or killed as the result of a crime - เหยื่อผู้เคราะห์ร้าย
withdraw: to take money out of a bank account - ถอนเงินจากธนาคาร
