A man was arrested by the police in Thailand for pretending to be a cop and also scamming people throughout central Thailand. Thaiger said that the fraudster would then gamble the money in casinos in Cambodia.
The man claimed to be Pol. Col. Wuttisak Phittakchanim, aged 58, claimed to be a police lieutenant. Armed with a photo of cows, he would travel from one village to the next. He would claim that the man owns the animals shown in the photos and wants to sell them at a fair price.
Wuttisak told Pairat Unha, the chief of Chang Lek, that he sold buffaloes and cows for 250,000 Baht (around $7200). Wuttisak went one step further and promised a 1,000 baht discount for each animal if Pairat purchased all of them.
Pairat saw some photos on an online chat room for cattle trader and suspected Wuttisak of lying. The chief of the village called the police and they quickly arrived on the scene.
Wuttisak would not suspect the officers and try to escape. The officers were dressed in plain clothes. The officers spoke to the man and requested his police ID. The con artist attempted to escape, but instead of providing one. He was eventually arrested and taken into custody.
The Uniform Gave Fraudster Credibility
The police were able to identify the man’s true identity, even though he claimed to be a policeman. They found several police equipment and fake registration plates in his car when they searched it.
Wuttisak tried to scam chief Pairat, but he wasn’t the only one. Worse, his earlier attempts to scam people were more successful.
Amnat Ayupool (26-year-old Lop Buri man) told police he had paid 330,000 baht (9,555 dollars) to purchase a herd cattle. However, the cattle never arrived. Amnat claimed that Wuttisak appeared trustworthy and reliable because of the fake uniform.
This is, in fact, the exact reason Wuttisak wore the uniform. The con artist admitted to the police that the uniform gave him credibility, which made it easier to scam people.
Wuttisak also admitted to using the deceit money he received to gamble in Poipet (Cambodia). He gambled away all his money and then returned to central Thailand to continue to scam people.
Pol. Col. Teerawut Saengmanee believes there are more victims to this scam than the police have yet to learn about.
