CCIB Warns of Evolving Scams Freezing Innocent Vendor Accounts
The Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) has issued a public warning that the bank accounts of numerous innocent online vendors are being unfairly frozen as sophisticated scammers adopt new, indirect methods to launder stolen money, placing legitimate businesses at risk.
CCIB commissioner Pol Lt Gen Trairong Phiwpan explained that criminal syndicates have moved beyond their traditional reliance on “mule” accounts—bank accounts knowingly opened or provided for illegal money transfers—to a much more complex laundering strategy.
These new methods involve scammers buying large quantities of goods from completely unsuspecting online vendors.
The criminals then quickly resell these purchased products for cash, effectively converting illegitimately sourced funds into clean, fungible currency.
“I admit that culprits are using this more sophisticated method, which leaves innocent people trapped in money-laundering cases,” the commissioner stated, acknowledging the systemic flaw that punishes victims.
To effectively respond to this rapidly evolving threat, the CCIB has committed to assigning more officers to manage the surge in complaints and to significantly speed up the bureaucratic process required for unfreezing the affected legitimate bank accounts.
Victims of this scam are urged to contact the local police station that is overseeing their specific case or utilize the dedicated national hotlines at 1441 and 095-425-7478 for immediate assistance and guidance.
Operational Impact and New Modus Operandi of Money Laundering
Commercial banks’ automated security protocols, designed to flag unusual activity, are inadvertently trapping legitimate merchants, demonstrating a critical operational challenge that the CCIB is now working to mitigate by identifying new methods used by the money laundering rings.
Pol Lt Gen Trairong pointed out that commercial banks typically enforce an automated freeze on any account that suddenly receives large sums of money from unusual or suspicious sources.
While this automatic mechanism is intended to halt illicit financial flow, it often unfairly impacts legitimate, high-volume vendors, such as those selling expensive electrical appliances, whose accounts are flagged simply due to a sudden spike in revenue.
The problem is compounded by a complex mix of deliberate collusion and outright deception.
The CCIB acknowledged that in some unfortunate cases, certain vendors have knowingly colluded with the scammers by staging fake product sales to earn illicit commissions, thereby actively participating in the laundering scheme.
However, in other instances, completely innocent people become victims of manipulative tricks.
For example, a scammer might “accidentally” transfer a large sum, such as 100,000 baht, to a victim’s account— such as a child’s account—and then convince the victim to immediately forward the money elsewhere, claiming a mistake.
This final transfer completes the laundering step but results in the victim’s original account being frozen due to the suspicious transaction.
The CCIB is working to differentiate between genuine victims and colluding parties to ensure a fair response.
Severe Economic Consequences for Online Sellers
The proliferation of these sophisticated freezing scams has inflicted severe economic damage upon the local online seller community, with many small businesses now fearing the disruption of their essential cash flow and consequently altering their payment practices.
Senator Pinyapat Sansaneeyacheewin noted that the current situation, marked by the constant threat of account freezes due to the CCIB’s necessary but blunt security measures, has severely injured the vitality of online sellers.
Many of these small businesses rely heavily on a constant, uninterrupted cash flow to cover immediate operational costs and remain financially viable.
The fear of having their bank accounts locked has caused a widespread disruption in normal business operations.
To shield themselves from risk, some vendors have taken the extreme measure of completely stopping the acceptance of digital bank transfers, opting instead to transact only through less convenient methods.
Others have reported a noticeable surge in customers who prefer to withdraw physical cash before paying, rather than risking a direct bank transfer which could potentially be linked to a frozen account in a complex chain.
This behavioral shift adds friction to the commerce process and is detrimental to the efficiency of the digital economy.
The CCIB understands that quick resolution is key to supporting these vendors and is focused on making the account unfreezing process more efficient, recognizing the critical role these sellers play in the national economy.
