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Cyber police and AIS engineers jointly tracked down and arrested a South Korean man for allegedly using a false base station (FBS) device inside a car to send deceptive SMS messages to mobile phone users at prime locations in Bangkok on Tuesday.
The Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) announced on Thursday that Kim Do-yeong, 35, was arrested at Pracha Songkroah Intersection in Din Daeng district while driving a Toyota sedan towards Victory Monument at about 11 am on Tuesday.
The arrest followed a detection by telecom engineers at Advanced Info Service (AIS), who spotted unusual signals from a rogue cell tower operating on Bangkok roads. AIS engineers traced the false signals from Ekkamai Intersection through New Phetchaburi Road and Asoke-Din Daeng Road before locating the source at Pracha Songkroah Intersection.
While CCIB officers pursued the vehicle, their own mobile phones also received spoofed SMS messages with links to deceptive websites generated by the FBS device in Kim’s car.
Upon stopping the vehicle, police discovered the FBS device actively sending signals. It was connected to a mobile power station and a signal amplifier. A false base station, also known as an IMSI catcher or Stingray, is a rogue device that mimics a legitimate cellular tower to trick mobile devices into connecting. It allows attackers to send SMS messages that appear to come from trusted sources such as banks or government agencies.
CCIB officers examined Kim’s mobile phone and found Telegram chat records showing instructions from his employer to drive around Bangkok and target crowded business areas with false SMS messages.
Kim confessed that he was hired by a Chinese man, whose identity he claimed not to know. He said he was paid 100,000 won per day and had to report his routes every 30 minutes via Telegram. He admitted to conducting the scheme three times between Sunday and Tuesday before being arrested.
Police believe Kim is linked to the same gang as two Thai suspects arrested on August 10 and 16 for operating FBS devices in Bangkok.
One suspect was caught at a petrol station on Sirindhorn Road in Bang Phlat district, while the other was arrested on Khao San Road. Both admitted they had also been hired by a Chinese man.
Police said Kim faces six charges, including:
The CCIB added that efforts are underway to identify and arrest the Chinese mastermind behind the gang.
 
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