Financial Crime World

Title: Thimphu Police Freeze Account of Bhutanese Man in Bangkok Amidst Alleged Financial Fraud Cases

Overview

  • Thimphu Police have ordered the freezing of a bank account belonging to a Bhutanese resident in Bangkok following two reports of alleged financial fraud.
  • Both victims were defrauded in currency exchange deals.

Incident One: Bhutanese Man in Australia Scammed in Currency Exchange Deal

  1. A Bhutanese man based in Australia attempted to exchange Bhutanese currency (Ngultrum) into Australian dollars (AUD).
  2. He was contacted by an individual on social media, who claimed to be a Bhutanese resident in Australia with Australian dollars for exchange.
  3. After receiving the account number from the scammer, the victim transferred Nu 116,000 to the account.
  4. No Australian dollars were received in return.

Incident Two: Bhutanese Student in Bangkok Scammed in Similar Currency Exchange Deal

  1. A Bhutanese student in Bangkok was scammed in a similar currency exchange deal.
  2. He encountered a person on social media claiming to be a Bhutanese student residing in Thailand with US dollars for exchange.
  3. The student eventually transferred Nu 72,000 to the scammer’s account but did not receive US dollars in return.

Suspected Phishing of Bank Account Details

  • The police believe that the scammers allegedly hacked into social media accounts of two Bhutanese citizens and phished their bank account details.
  • The scammers then used the social media accounts to send the account numbers of the victims to individuals seeking foreign currencies.

Victims Unaware of Scams

  • The police confirmed that both victims were not aware of the scams and only learned about them after reporting the cases.
  • Both victims had received messages about amounts being deposited into their accounts, but the amounts were withdrawn within a few minutes.

Alleged Fraudster Deals in Cryptocurrency

  • Investigations revealed that the illegally obtained funds from both scam cases were deposited into a Bank of Bhutan (BOB) account belonging to a Bhutanese man living in Thailand.
  • He deals in cryptocurrency and is believed to have been unaware of the alleged crime.
  • He initially informed the police that he received threat messages from the hackers when he failed to release the cryptocurrencies.

Increasing Trend in Financial Frauds

  • Thimphu Police have recorded 45 financial fraud cases since 2023, resulting in financial losses of over nine million ngultrum.
  • Most common frauds involved hacking bank accounts using One-Time Passwords (OTPs).

Prevention and Public Awareness

  • Thimphu Police are urging Bhutanese travelling or residing overseas to exercise caution when exchanging currency and remain vigilant.
  • They are advised to secure one’s banking apps and verify the authenticity of online interactions to avoid falling prey to money scams.