The Anti-Technology Crime Department warned the public to be alert to online-loan fraud and think carefully before borrowing online. The warning followed cases involving a service called “Madam Atra Kamchei Prak”, which did not provide victims with loans but instead used their documents to threaten them and posted photographs of their friends and relatives to defame them.
The department said on January 14 that it had recently seen advertising linked to online-loan fraud on a Facebook page called “Madam Kamchei”. People interested in the advertised loans who contacted the page through Facebook Messenger were directed to a Telegram account called “Madam Atra Kamchei Prak”, linked to the number 011 940 695. After discussing and agreeing on the requested loan amount, the anonymous operators told them to photograph and send documents including identity cards, family books and residence books, as well as photographs of themselves holding their identity cards and pictures of their workplaces. The operators then sent a QR code for them to scan and transfer money as document-processing or administrative fees.
The department added that, after receiving the money, the anonymous operators kept demanding further transfers before cutting off contact and deleting all messages, without ever providing the loan. They could also use the submitted documents to threaten victims and take photographs of victims’ friends and relatives from Facebook to publish defamatory claims connected with supposed guarantees for the loan.
The Anti-Technology Crime Department urged the public to examine and consider matters carefully before deciding to borrow online, particularly checking whether the lender is a lawful lending institution, to avoid subsequent risks.
By: Nget Pisant.
