In an unprecedented turn of events, a former insurance worker has been seized by cyber law enforcement for peddling client data without authorization from a bank-associated insurance firm.
The arrest that marked the calendar on November 16, was pursued after a warrant was endorsed by the Thon Buri Criminal Court. The suspect was caught red-handed at the gateway of an upscale residential complex in Phasi Charoen district. Two mobile devices were seized at the scene, providing tangible evidence of his illicit activities.
Earlier, law enforcement had taken into custody brokers associated with various insurance companies who were clandestinely trafficking the sensitive personal details of millions of insurance patrons to delinquent factions. Among this web of white-collar crime, the name of a certain Weeratat Sanphanich emerged. The 45-year-old had evidently been involved in a significant number of transactions wherein he had exchanged currency to acquire the details of approximately 2,000 insurance clientele, shelling out 1,000 baht for each deal. The understanding of these dealings led police to secure a search warrant from the Thon Buri Criminal Court.
During questioning, Weeratat disclosed that in the wake of the Covid pandemic, he sought unlawful means to generate revenue, raking in around 100,000 baht a month through peddling data. He confessed that his previous role as a supervisor in an insurance enterprise, where he managed about 10 team members, granted him convenient access to a trove of customer data. He acknowledged storing this sensitive information on his mobile device and using it to market databases without obtaining the necessary permissions from the legitimate data owners.
The data he had access to was a mix of credible and inaccurate details, including information about prominent figures like news announcer Sorayut Suthassanajinda, and a host of well-known personalities, celebrities, and business leaders. As the walls began closing in on him, Weeratat tried to slip through the tightening net by altering his phone number, discontinuing his previous number, and cutting down all communication channels, inclusive of Facebook. He went to extremes, resorting to camouflaging his identity and refraining from using any personal transportation or returning to his own residence, as per a report by KhaoSod.
However, all his attempts to circumvent capture proved futile as the authorities caught up with him. He was charged with unauthorized access to personal information owing to his professional responsibilities and revealing these to unauthorized individuals, causing harm by meddling, changing, and supplementing someone else’s computer data unlawfully. Weeratat’s current status is that of an inmate, alongside the seized evidence, as he waits for due legal procedures to take their course.
The captivating saga of Weeratat’s ill-fated journey into the cyber underworld serves as a reminder of the law’s long reach, compelling us to uphold cybersecurity and privacy laws vehemently.
As the digital footprint spreads, personal data will continue to be gold. Guard it as you would your treasured assets.
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