New normal in Thailand sees spike in complaints from online shoppers
With more people shopping online under the new normal, there has also been a surge in complaints about fraud, scams and people getting the wrong product.
The hotline is operated by the Digital Economy and Society Ministry’s Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA), which works alongside the police High-Tech Crime Division and other agencies to prevent cybercrimes.
“Complaints this year have risen 29 per cent compared to the same period last year. Most of the complaints [82.4 per cent] were related to Facebook transactions, followed by 4.6 per cent against general websites and 4.3 per cent against transactions on Instagram,” she said.
The top 10 complaints are:
• Sellers did not send products after being paid
• False advertising
• Buyers get fake products despite sellers’ claims of the products being genuine
• Scams related to imported products
• Illegal items being found in the parcel
• Damaged products
• Online lottery scam
• Amulet scam
• Hire-purchase scam
• Sellers using fake photos to advertise products
“Online scammers can face up to five years in prison or a 10,000 baht fine under the Criminal Code and up to 100,000 baht fine under the Computer-Related Crime Act,” Ratchada said.
Complaints can be lodged via the 1212 hotline, email [email protected] or by visiting https://www.1212occ.com
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