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NOPE
Medium reported severity Criminal Charges

Thai police say call-centre gang used AI to pose as officers on video calls; an actress lost 4 million baht and a court later ordered her bank to pay part

Thailand's Central Investigation Bureau said in February 2025 that two arrested members of a call-scam centre in Poipet, Cambodia, had used artificial intelligence technology to pretend to be police officers, and that the gang had tricked 163 people, including a Thai-British actress who lost 4 million baht. VnExpress, citing the South China Morning Post, reports that the actress received a video call in December 2024 from a man posing as a Department of Special Investigation official who kept her on the call while she made three transfers, and that police later said the network used AI to swap the callers' faces during video calls. The Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau said in June 2025 that the Criminal Court had sentenced four people in her case, one of them for posing as a police officer on video calls with her, and ordered them to repay the 4 million baht. On 8 July 2026 the Civil Court ordered Kasikornbank to pay 1 million baht plus interest after ruling that the bank failed to flag her after-midnight transfers. The police have not described how they established that AI was used.

AI system
Unidentified video tool
Occurred
Dec 2024
Reported
4 February 2025
Event location
Thailand, Cambodia
What the AI did
Depicted or impersonated the person
Reported harm
Financial Loss
Whose AI use
Someone else’s AI use
Setting
Finance · Justice
Evidence
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 3 sources
6 claims: 6 reported. 5 open questions
People reported harmed
At least 1 person

AI system as recorded: Artificial-intelligence technology that Thai police say call-centre suspects used to pose as police officers, described in a later report as swapping the callers' faces during video calls; no tool is named

What Happened

The police account of AI use. On 3 February 2025 Pol Lt Gen Jirabhop Bhuridej, commissioner of Thailand's Central Investigation Bureau, announced the arrest of two men described as members of a call-scam centre on the 13th floor of a building in Poipet, Cambodia. According to the commissioner, both suspects used artificial intelligence technology to pretend to be police officers, told victims they were investigating money-laundering and narcotics cases and ordered them to transfer money for examination. He said the gang had tricked 163 people, among them a beauty queen who lost 4 million baht. VnExpress, citing the South China Morning Post, reports that police later said the network used AI to swap the callers' faces during video calls.

The actress's loss. According to VnExpress, the actress received a video call on 7 December 2024 from a man posing as an official of the Department of Special Investigation, who told her she was suspected of money laundering and kept her on the video call while she made three transfers totalling 4 million baht through her bank's mobile app, two of them after midnight. The Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau dates the incident to 8 December 2024 and says the fraudsters posed as police officers.

Court outcomes. The Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau said in June 2025 that the Criminal Court had sentenced four defendants on 29 May 2025. One was sentenced for posing as a police officer on video calls with the victim and coercing her into transferring money; the others opened or supplied bank accounts. The court ordered the four to repay the 4 million baht with interest. On 8 July 2026 the Civil Court ordered Kasikornbank to pay 1 million baht plus interest, ruling that the bank failed to flag her after-midnight transfers.

What is not established. No source names the AI tool or says how the police established its use. The Bangkok Post and Nation reports do not say whether the two men arrested in February 2025 are among the four sentenced, and the share of the 163 victims deceived through AI-assisted impersonation is not reported.

Reported harm

According to Thai police, a call-centre gang whose members used AI to pose as police officers tricked 163 people; an actress transferred 4 million baht during a video call with a man posing as an official. Courts later ordered the convicted defendants to repay her and her bank to pay 1 million baht.

Outcome

Ongoing

Police arrested two alleged members of the Poipet-based call centre in early February 2025 (Bangkok Post, 4 Feb 2025). The Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau said on 5 June 2025 that the Criminal Court had sentenced four defendants on 29 May 2025 in the actress's case, including one for posing as a police officer on video calls with her, ordered them to repay the 4 million baht with interest from 8 December 2024 and gave them one month to appeal; a fifth suspect remained at large. On 8 July 2026 the Civil Court ordered Kasikornbank to pay 1 million baht plus 5% annual interest from 8 December 2024 to the company that manages the actress's finances, finding that the bank failed to flag her after-midnight transfers (VnExpress, 14 Jul 2026, citing the Bangkok Post). Whether any appeal was lodged is not reported in the sources read.

What remains unknown

  • Which AI tool was used and how the police established its use
  • Whether a swapped face was used in the actress's own video call, which no source states in terms
  • Whether the two men arrested in February 2025 are among the four defendants sentenced in May 2025
  • How many of the 163 people the police count were deceived through AI-assisted impersonation
  • Whether either side appealed the criminal sentences or the July 2026 civil ruling

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. The commissioner of Thailand's Central Investigation Bureau, which investigated the gang, said the two arrested suspects used artificial intelligence technology to pretend to be police officers and named among the gang's victims the actress who lost 4 million baht (s1); VnExpress, citing the South China Morning Post, reports that police later said the network used AI to swap the callers' faces during video calls (s3). The actress was kept on a video call by a man posing as an official while she made the transfers (s3), and a defendant was sentenced for posing as a police officer on video calls with her (s2). The AI-made faces impersonated officials toward the people called. No tool, recording or forensic analysis is disclosed, and no source states in terms that a swapped face was used in her particular call.

6 claims: 6 reported. What the statuses mean

Reported The commissioner of Thailand's Central Investigation Bureau said two arrested members of a Poipet-based call-scam centre used artificial intelligence technology to pretend to be police officers and ordered victims to transfer money for examination.

Causal attribution. The investigating police's attribution; the technical basis is not disclosed.

  • bangkokpost.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'According to the commissioner, both suspects used artificial intelligence technology to pretend to be police officers.'; 'With AI assistance, the suspects pretended to be police officers. They told victims that they were investigating money-laundering and narcotics cases and then ordered them to transfer money to their accounts for examination, Pol Lt Gen Jirabhop said.'
Reported According to the commissioner, the gang had tricked 163 people, including a beauty queen who alone lost 4 million baht.

Causal attribution. Police figures; the share deceived through AI-assisted impersonation is not stated.

  • bangkokpost.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'Police have arrested two men for being alleged members of a Poipet-based call scam centre that tricked many people, including a beauty queen who alone lost 4 million baht.'; 'The scam gang had tricked 163 people before both suspects were arrested, he said.'
Reported VnExpress, citing the South China Morning Post, reports that police later said the network used artificial intelligence to swap the callers' faces during video calls.

Causal attribution. A regional outlet's relay of another outlet's report of a police statement; the SCMP report was not read.

  • e.vnexpress.net(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'Police later said the network operated from an office building in Poipet, Cambodia, used artificial intelligence to swap the callers' faces during video calls, and had targeted at least 163 people, SCMP reported.'
Reported The actress received a video call in December 2024 from a man posing as an official of the Department of Special Investigation, who kept her on the call while she transferred 4 million baht in three transfers, two of them after midnight; the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau says the fraudsters posed as police officers and dates the incident to 8 December 2024.

Causal attribution. VnExpress relays SCMP's account of the call; the CCIB statement gives the police account. The two date the event a day apart (call on 7 December, transfers after midnight), so month precision is used. Two origins, but they differ on the impersonated agency, so the claim stays reported.

  • e.vnexpress.net(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'received a video call on Dec. 7, 2024 from a man posing as an official from Thailand's Department of Special Investigation.'; 'He ordered her to transfer 4 million baht so authorities could "verify" her innocence, keeping her on the video call the entire time.'; 'She made three transfers through Kasikornbank's mobile app, two of them after midnight.'
  • nationthailand.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'the fraudsters posed as police officers and convinced the actress to transfer 4 million baht, threatening her with false allegations of involvement in a money-laundering ring. The incident took place on December 8, 2024.'
Reported The Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau said the Criminal Court sentenced four defendants on 29 May 2025, one of them for posing as a police officer on video calls with the victim and coercing her into transferring money, and ordered the four to repay the 4 million baht with interest.

Causal attribution. Police account of the sentences, and a relay of the same Nation report; one origin. The Nation does not mention AI, and neither source says whether the February 2025 arrestees are among the four.

  • nationthailand.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'Defendant 4 (Mr. T, 28 years old): 6 years 146 months for posing as a police officer on video calls with the victim and coercing her into transferring money to Defendant 1’s account.'; 'The court also ordered the four defendants to jointly repay the 4 million baht, plus 5% interest per year starting from December 8, 2024.'
  • e.vnexpress.net(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'A criminal court jailed four members of the gang for six to seven years in May 2025 and ordered them to jointly repay the 4 million baht, The Nation reported.'
Reported On 8 July 2026 the Civil Court ordered Kasikornbank to pay 1 million baht plus 5% annual interest from 8 December 2024, ruling that the bank failed to flag the after-midnight transfers.

Causal attribution. One outlet's report of the ruling, citing the Bangkok Post; the judgment was not inspected.

  • e.vnexpress.net(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'after ruling the bank failed to flag the after-midnight transfers she made while being scammed out of 4 million baht (US$124,000).'; 'The court ruled on July 8 that Kasikornbank must pay 1 million baht, plus 5% annual interest from Dec. 8, 2024'

Sources

3 sources inspected. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.

How the sources were read, and where the events happened

Read in English on 2026-11-02 through a Wayback Machine capture (the live site returned HTTP 451). Bangkok Post, 4 February 2025, report of the Central Investigation Bureau commissioner's statement. Applies to s1.

Read in English on 2026-11-02; HTTP 200. The Nation, 5 June 2025, report of the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau chief's statement on the sentences. Applies to s2.

Read in English on 2026-11-02; HTTP 200. VnExpress International, 14 July 2026, citing the Bangkok Post on the Civil Court ruling and the South China Morning Post on the call and the police statement about face swapping; neither cited report was read for this review. Applies to s3.

Event countries: Thailand, Cambodia. Affected-person countries: Thailand. Court countries: Thailand.

The call centre operated from Poipet, Cambodia, and the victims were in Thailand (s1, s3); Thai criminal and civil courts ruled (s2, s3).

Reviewed for publication 2026-11-02: Published as a reported police case with court outcomes: Thai police say call-centre suspects used AI to pose as police officers, a later report says the network swapped callers' faces with AI on video calls, an actress lost 4 million baht on a video call with a man posing as an official, four people were sentenced and a civil court ordered her bank to pay part of the loss.

People described

A Thai-British actress who transferred 4 million baht during a video call in December 2024 with a man posing as an official, and other people whom the police say the gang tricked (163 in total, as the police count them).

People reported harmed in this case

At least 1 person

0 AI participants · 1 other person harmed

Additional affected people are described without a reliable count.

Counted: the actress who lost 4 million baht (Bangkok Post, Nation, VnExpress). The commissioner says the gang 'had tricked 163 people', but the sources do not say how many of them were deceived through AI-assisted impersonation, so the others are unquantified.

Counted once within this case. The same person may appear in other cases. This count does not establish AI causation.

Tags

#deepfake-video#video-call#police-impersonation#fraud#bank-liability#thailand

Cite this case

Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.

APA

NOPE. (2026). Thai police say call-centre gang used AI to pose as officers on video calls; an actress lost 4 million baht and a court later ordered her bank to pay part. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2024-thailand-police-say-call-centre-gang-used-ai-to-pose-as-officers-on-video-calls-actress-lost-4-million-baht

BibTeX

@misc{2024_thailand_police_say_call_centre_gang_used_ai_to_pose_as_officers_on_video_calls_actress_lost_4_million_baht,
  title = {Thai police say call-centre gang used AI to pose as officers on video calls; an actress lost 4 million baht and a court later ordered her bank to pay part},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2024-thailand-police-say-call-centre-gang-used-ai-to-pose-as-officers-on-video-calls-actress-lost-4-million-baht}
}

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