A cross-border fraud syndicate led by Chang, a cadre of the Bamboo Union Mingren Club, is suspected of colluding with travel agencies to send over a hundred Taiwanese to Cambodia to scam Chinese nationals, resulting in around 46 victims and losses exceeding NT$200 million (approximately RM25 million). Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Bureau, along with Thailand and China, exchanged intelligence and launched a crackdown operation, arresting 20 suspects.
The Criminal Investigation Bureau held a press conference about the case on Tuesday. Lin Hanlong, deputy leader of the 7th Investigation Team, stated that during their investigation into a Cambodia-based overseas fraud call center case, they discovered the scam group members were all purchasing airline tickets through specific travel agencies in Thailand and deliberately using Thai credit cards to pay for the tickets. They also falsified return itineraries to evade inspection and successfully leave the country.
A special task force worked with the bureau’s Cross-Strait Affairs Division, Interpol Division, the liaison officer stationed in Thailand, and the Royal Thai Police Central Investigation Bureau to continue tracing the source. They found that the head of this cross-border fraud syndicate was Chang, who recruited young people to work in Cambodian fraud call centers through friends or online high-salary job posts, using the method of impersonating China’s public security authorities to defraud mainland Chinese victims.
The entire case was referred to the Yunlin District Prosecutors Office for direction. Upon investigation, it was learned that Chang, who lived in Yunlin and frequently traveled between Taiwan and Cambodia, noticed that Lin, the owner of a travel agency in Douliu City, Yunlin County, provided attentive service and also operated a travel agency in Thailand. Therefore, Chang entrusted Lin to assist in handling the relevant procedures for the syndicate members to leave for Cambodia.