News Forum - Police bust counterfeiters selling fake US $100 bills on Facebook

[Thaiger]

A police raid led to uncovering an alleged counterfeiting ring that is suspected of producing 50,000 fake American banknotes in the Bangkok suburb of Nakhon Pathom. The criminal masterminds were discovered by police as they attempted the move the counterfeit bills in a not so sneaky way: advertising them for sale on Facebook. Police opened an investigation on the operation after seeing an announcement on a Facebook page offering fake American bills for sale. The investigation led to a police raid yesterday, with officers from the Metropolitan Police Bureau joined by the Technology Crime Suppression Division converged on a house […]

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[Petey]

"How many did they say they printed, officer?"

"400,000 sir!"

"Wow, they printed 200,000?"

"Yes sir, altogether 50,000!"  

[riclag]

Wonder hiw much they were selling each one for!

The printing press looked good!

4 ladies  ! I wonder what Nationality!

I think they’re not all Thai

[Dedinbed]

33 minutes ago, Thaiger said:

advertising them for sale on Facebook

Not the brightest then .. 

[JohninDublin]

I just don't understand all these "master criminals" using FB as an "accomplice", or to promote their crimes. 

Couple of examples that spring to mind. In Ireland, if you import a car from a foreign country, you are hit with two taxes, VRT and VAT. This is about 60% of the purchase price of the car. So in the first case, a woman living near the border with the North, bought a car and brought it back to the south. She then went on FB asking if anyone knew how she could get out of paying the tax. The following day as she left her driveway and turned onto the road, Customs were waiting for her. They confiscated the car and to get it back, she not only had to pay the taxes, but a €250 penalty for the attempted evasion.

Another example involved a very stupid kid from the Tottenham Riots. He'd done a bit of looting, and then posted a pic of himself on FB smiling as he displayed his stash. The police then did an appeal, "Do you know this man", and he was arrested the same day.

It never occurred to either of these two morons, that Police and Customs might have FB account's, let alone that some of the billion plus users might take a dim view of their deeds and turn them in.

[ThailandRyan]

Where was the US secret service during the bust? The US Secret Service handles all counterfeiting cases involving US Currency

http://fraudaid.com/solution_center/jurisdictions/usfed-secretservice.htm 

The Secret Service was established as a law enforcement agency in 1865. While most people associate the Secret Service with Presidential protection, our original mandate was to investigate the counterfeiting of U.S. currency--which we still do. Today our primary investigative mission is to safeguard the payment and financial systems of the United States. This has been historically accomplished through the enforcement of the counterfeiting statutes to preserve the integrity of United States currency,

[longwood50]

Now if they were selling them at full value, why would anyone have purchased them?  If they were selling them for less than the $100 USD face value, why would anyone believe them to be genuine? 

You would have thought they would have picked up on the likeness not being Benjamin Franklin. 

 

[Malc-Thai]

Amazing.. from sheer brilliance of setting up and counterfeiting $100 bills to sheer stupidity of selling them on Facebook!  

Anyone want a $100 for only ฿1000 !

[Poolie]

They might as well. Monopoly money, printed at will!

[Jason]

There are a number of people who have embarked on a life of crime, who really need to just admit that they are "not the sharpest tool in the shed". Give it up, you guys...you're hopeless at it...and the police are forever grateful to you that you're hopeless at it...it makes their job so much easier :)

[Poolie]

4 minutes ago, Jason said:

There are a number of people who have embarked on a life of crime, who really need to just admit that they are "not the sharpest tool in the shed". Give it up, you guys...you're hopeless at it...and the police are forever grateful to you that you're hopeless at it...it makes their job so much easier :)

The Fed? Couldn't agree more..

[longwood50]

15 hours ago, Jason said:

There are a number of people who have embarked on a life of crime, who really need to just admit that they are "not the sharpest tool in the shed".

My two favorites are the man who went to a Wells Fargo Bank and used one of his starter checks to write the hold up note to the teller.  The teller copied down the account number and yep it was the mans own check for an account opened at Wells Fargo. 

My other is the hold up man slipped a note demanding $10 million in USD.  The teller explained she didn't have that much and would he take a Bank Money Order instead.  The man agreed and the teller said she needed his ID for the check.  The robber handed the teller his drivers license.