Police arrest Ghanaian for Credit-card fraud

Web Sawadee, the operator of online travel portal www.sawasdee.com, has filed charges against Hashim Abdullah.

Sutthawan Thaosakun, chief information officer of Web Sawadee, said in a statement that the company recently caught the man and took him to Lumpini police station as a result of joint action between the authorities and online service providers.

The man has been detained by the Criminal Court for further legal action on a charge of fraudulent use of credit cards.

Abdullah had allegedly cheated the company by repeatedly booking hotel accommodation in Thailand through proprietary and affiliate online booking systems, and settled payment using misappropriated credit cards, Sutthawan said.

After Abdullah was arrested, several Internet transactions were completed in other destinations. The investigating officers found that Abdullah had also falsified other legal documents such as passports.

"As a result of the arrest, our company expects that such fraud against companies in the tourism industry, hotel, and related trades through the Internet, will receive more attention and more frauds might be revealed," Sutthawan said. Sutthawan urged other service providers to take action to prevent fraudulent practices.

"We don't want Thailand to become a shelter for such criminals. Fraud through the Internet can be efficiently tracked and the culprits are swiftly apprehended," Sutthawan added.

Web Sawadee has suffered financial damages exceeding Bt1 million from similar fraud cases.