Junk messages must now be blocked by Thai mobile carriers

An order made by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission this week declared that all mobile phone operators must now block junk messages and fraudulent SMS. The order is aimed at curbing unsolicited junk messages on people’s mobile phones and protecting them from scams or malicious advertisements.

The new order went into effect on September 23 and applies to all mobile phone operators in Thailand, according to the secretary-general of the NBTC. Thailand’s mobile phone operators AIS, DTAC, NT, True, and 3BB are now required to block junk and fraudulent messages including those about online lending, gambling, and any pornographic material.

The new decree requires each of the operators to share their phone records of such spam with each other in order to band malicious senders across all operators.

Any telecommunication operator that works with contact providers to help them or allow them to send junk messages considered fraudulent are malicious like those listed above could be subject to punishment as well. The penalties may begin with warnings but escalate to fines and the possibility of the suspension of their operating license or complete termination of a license.

The NBTC will also publish on their website details about those who send junk messages like this. The general public can check the NBTC website to see if a message they received has been flagged as malicious in order to protect themselves from fraud, scams or hackers.

SOURCE: MCOT