Online fraudsters prompt Thailand’s DES Minister to call for halt on unauthorised bank transactions

Thailand’s Minister of Digital Economy and Society (DES) strongly urged banks to halt unauthorised transactions following a request by their customers. This suggests an effort to mitigate the financial damages inflicted by online fraudsters on unsuspecting victims.

The directive comes in light of the recent enactment of the Royal Decree on Cyber Crime Prevention and Suppression, which came into effect on March 17. The new regulation grants banking institutions the authority to suspend accounts that are suspected to be conduits of online fraudsters. Importantly, this action can be taken without requiring an official order by law enforcement agencies or the affected clients.

Hence, DES Minister Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn highlighted the need for banks to devise mechanisms that aid clients who seemingly have been the victims of scamming.

His admonition arrived following the unsettling account narrated by noted TV news anchor Paweenamai Baikhloi, who spoke about losing over 1 million baht to online fraudsters who posed as officials from the Department of Land. Confirming these details, Paweenamai submitted her complaint to the Phasi Charoen Police on August 9.

According to her account, she was approached by the scammer on Line, which is widely used by Thais for potential fraud because of its anonymity. The perpetrator claimed to be an official who needed to verify her tax details. The scammer was able to extract private information from her after stating the particulars of the land she owned.

Despite successfully fooling her at first, the online fraudsters raised Paweenamai’s suspicions after instructing her to open a link and download a file, which he portrayed as the Department of Land’s official application.

Although she then ceased to comply with their instructions, the criminals by then had emptied her three bank accounts of over 1 million baht, reported Bangkok Post.

Narrating the ordeal, she revealed that upon realising her predicament, her bank initially rejected her plea to freeze her accounts. She was told that only a police complaint could precipitate such action. By the time she managed to gather all the necessary documents, a devastatingly colossal six hours had passed, and the online fraudsters had already deprived her of the funds.

DES Minister Chaiwut cautioned everyone not to hit any dubious links shared via Line chat by these online fraudsters, especially if urged by unknown people masquerading as public agency workers. He reminded that all government departments have been asked not to directly contact their patrons via personal calls.

He further advised individuals to stay informed about the correct websites or software applications of public agencies and banks. This practice can greatly reduce the risk of such scams conducted by online fraudsters.

In regards to potential data security breaches, the DES will robustly scrutinise the Department of Land’s database to seek any signs of unauthorised data leakage or unconsented sales which are violations under the Personal Data Protection Act, Chaiwut confirmed.