Kasikornbank · AI used against the institution · severity 2 of 5
A Kasikornbank (KBank) customer lost 4 million baht in December 2024 after video calls from a man posing as a Department of Special Investigation official, making three transfers through the KBank app, two after midnight. Thai police said in February 2025 that the Cambodia-based gang behind the scam used AI to alter the callers' faces, according to the South China Morning Post and Bangkok Post. On 8 July 2026 Thailand's Civil Court ordered KBank to pay 1 million baht plus 5% annual interest, finding the after-midnight transfers abnormal enough that the bank should have detected them, while holding the customer equally responsible, according to the Bangkok Post. The bank had argued its fraud monitoring met industry standards. The court's liability finding concerns transaction monitoring, not the AI itself.
Record last reviewed Oct 21, 2026 · Markdown
Date
Institution
Kasikornbank
Country
Thailand
AI system
AI face-altering on video calls, used by a call-centre scam gang posing as officials
AI?
Described as AI by the institution or regulator
The institution, a regulator or a court called the system AI.
Status
Resolved
Severity
2 of 5
Impact
4 million baht lost (about US$118,000-124,000); bank ordered to pay 1 million baht plus interest · One customer; the gang targeted at least 163 people, according to police · The ruling applied Thailand's April 2025 amended emergency decree on shared responsibility for scam losses.
What happened?
On 7 December 2024 a KBank customer, a Thai public figure, received a video call from a man claiming to be an official of the Department of Special Investigation, who said she was suspected of money laundering linked to Stark Corporation and told her to transfer 4 million baht so her innocence could be verified. While kept on the video call, she made three transfers through the KBank mobile banking app, two of them after midnight, according to the Bangkok Post.[1][3]
In February 2025 police arrested two men they said belonged to a roughly 50-member call-centre gang operating from a building in Poipet, Cambodia, that had targeted at least 163 people. Pol Lt Gen Jirabhop Bhuridej, commissioner of the Central Investigation Bureau, said the suspects used artificial intelligence to pretend to be police officers; the SCMP reported him as saying AI technology was used to alter the scammers' faces during video calls. A criminal court jailed four members of the gang in May 2025.[1][2][3]
The company that manages the customer's assets sued KBank for the full 4 million baht, alleging breach of the deposit agreement because the transfers were clearly unusual and high-risk and the bank neither detected them nor issued warnings. On 8 July 2026 the Civil Court found the first 2 million baht transfer, made at 5pm, a normal transaction, but found the two consecutive after-midnight transfers, totalling 2 million baht, abnormal. It held the bank should have had more robust monitoring, split responsibility equally with the customer, and ordered KBank to pay 1 million baht plus 5% annual interest from 8 December 2024, a share of court fees and 20,000 baht in legal fees.[1][4]
When did it happen?
- Dec 7, 2024
A KBank customer receives a video call from a fake DSI official and makes three app transfers totalling 4 million baht, two after midnight.[1][3]
- Feb 3, 2025
Police announce two arrests and say the Poipet-based gang used AI to pose as police officers on video calls.[2][3]
- May 2025
A criminal court sentences four gang members to six to seven years in prison.[1]
- Jul 8, 2026
The Civil Court orders Kasikornbank to pay 1 million baht plus interest for failing to detect the abnormal after-midnight transfers.[1][4]
What was the impact?
- Financial: 4 million baht lost (about US$118,000-124,000); bank ordered to pay 1 million baht plus interest[1][3][4]
- Customers: One customer; the gang targeted at least 163 people, according to police[1][3][4]
- Other: The ruling applied Thailand's April 2025 amended emergency decree on shared responsibility for scam losses.[1][3][4]
Severity 2 of 5: Limited harm to one customer: a 4 million baht loss, of which the court ordered the bank to pay 1 million baht for failing to flag abnormal after-midnight transfers; no regulatory action.
How did Kasikornbank respond?
In court, Kasikornbank argued that its transaction monitoring and fraud prevention systems met industry standards and that the transfers were processed as ordinary transactions under its normal detection criteria. No public statement on the ruling found as of 2026-10-21 (searched Bangkok Post, VnExpress and Thai-language coverage).[1]
What was the outcome, and did regulators act?
The Civil Court ordered KBank to pay 1 million baht plus 5% annual interest, a proportional share of court fees and 20,000 baht in legal fees; the customer's lawyer called the ruling a precedent for holding banks accountable for late-night suspicious transactions. Whether KBank will appeal has not been reported. Four gang members were jailed by a criminal court in May 2025.[1][4]
Why did a Thai court order Kasikornbank to pay a scam victim?
The Civil Court found on 8 July 2026 that two consecutive after-midnight transfers, totalling 2 million baht, were abnormal enough that KBank should have detected them. It held the customer equally responsible for making the transfers and ordered the bank to pay half, 1 million baht plus 5% annual interest, according to the Bangkok Post.
Was AI used in the Kasikornbank customer's scam?
Thai police said so. The Central Investigation Bureau commissioner said in February 2025 that the Cambodia-based gang used artificial intelligence to pose as police officers, and the SCMP reported him as saying AI was used to alter the scammers' faces on video calls. The court's finding against the bank concerned transaction monitoring, not the AI.
How much money was lost in the Kasikornbank video-call scam?
The customer transferred 4 million baht (about US$118,000 to US$124,000 depending on the exchange rate used) in three transfers on 7 and 8 December 2024. The court ordered Kasikornbank to pay 1 million baht plus interest, court fees and legal costs; a criminal court had also ordered the jailed gang members to repay the money.
What did Kasikornbank say about the scam ruling?
In court, Kasikornbank argued that its transaction monitoring and fraud prevention systems met industry standards and that the transfers were processed as ordinary transactions. No public statement from the bank on the ruling or on any appeal had been found as of October 2026.
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