Thailand’s daily online fraud falls to 110 million baht in April

Online fraud damage in April was reported at 110 million baht daily, indicating a 26% decrease from the 149 million baht experienced daily in March. This significant reduction is a result of the intensified crackdown on online fraud by authorities.

On the first of April, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin delegated several organisations to yield tangible results from their efforts to tackle the widespread online fraud within 30 days. In response, the number of online fraud complaints in April increased to 992, compared to the 855 recorded in March.

This increase is attributed to the availability of more channels for victims to lodge their complaints, as explained by the Minister of Digital Economy and Society (DES), Prasert Jantararuangthong.

Despite the improvement in some key indexes, the minister expressed dissatisfaction with the figures. He drew attention to the fact that there was a substantial increase in the number of blocked illegal websites, with 16,158 sites blocked in April this year compared to 600 in April last year.

The ministry is looking forward to more efficient handling of online crime through an AI-driven system currently being planned. Talks are ongoing with the management of Microsoft Thailand to support the state authority’s operation in suppressing online crime, said Prasert

“The most significant worry is fraud in investment in securities, funds, or digital assets through illegal websites and social platforms. The damage per case related to such fraud could amount to 30 to 70 million baht.”

Damage figures

Prasert went on to say that there has been an improvement in the damage figures compared to the previous year and that the ministry intends to present the operation’s results and progress to the Cabinet the following week.

Prasert emphasised the need for related authorities and organisations to continue adhering strictly to the critical measures against online fraud, illegal websites, mule SIM cards, and mule bank accounts. This includes increasing public awareness of such fraud, preventing the risk of being tricked into illegal investments, and revising some regulations or laws.

Online offence prosecutions averaged 1,000 cases monthly between January and March but surged to 6,458 in April. The prosecutions for online gambling were 1,200 monthly from January to March but rose to 3,757 in April. Prosecutions for mule accounts were 120 a month in the first quarter, increasing to 361 in April.

Regarding the actions taken to close and terminate mule accounts in recent months, the Bank of Thailand and Thai Bankers’ Association (TBA) have suspended 300,000 accounts, the ministry has suspended 112,699 accounts, and the Anti-Money Laundering Office has suspended 318,298 accounts.

Prasert stated that the increase in prosecutions and suspended accounts shows the effectiveness of the collaboration between the parties involved. He further stated that all agencies need to submit information such as suspected mule accounts, mule SIMs, and URL/Line information relating to gambling websites or other information to the Online Scam Operation Centre, reported Bangkok Post.