Chinese man jailed for phishing scam - Bangkok Post

Police officers at the Immigration Bureau display items seized last August in the arrest of a Chinese scammer who was sentenced to jail this week. (Photo: supplied/ Wassayos Ngamkham) A Chinese man has been sentenced to two years and three months in prison for running a phishing scam in which Thai and foreign victims were tricked into entering their credit‑card details through fraudulent links.

The suspect later used the stolen information to purchase valuables online and convert them into cash, authorities said.

The case marks the first time police have successfully seized a suspect’s digital assets stored in a non‑custodial wallet, Pol Lt Gen Panumas Boonyalug, commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, said on Thursday.

The suspect, identified as Yupeng An, was arrested in August last year in Bang Chan district of Bangkok. His arrest followed victims’ complaints of phishing, a scam in which attackers deceive individuals into revealing sensitive information or installing malware such as viruses, worms, adware or ransomware, Pol Lt Gen Panumas said.

After obtaining victims’ information, Mr Yupeng purchased gold and mobile phones through online platforms before exchanging them for cash. He targeted both Thais and foreigners, police said.

Assets seized from him were valued at more than 10 million baht. They included over 70 mobile phones used to receive victims’ information and make online purchases, 21 baht‑weight in gold ornaments (worth 1.65 million baht at current prices), and Tether cryptocurrency (USDT) worth $264,179.

“The key highlight of this case is that authorities were able to successfully seize and transfer digital currency from the suspect, which had been stored in a non‑custodial software wallet without identity verification,” Pol Lt Gen Panumas said.

Non‑custodial wallets are typically more complex and more difficult to trace compared with wallets held on conventional exchanges, he said.