Thai govt pushes for increased awareness, as online scams soar
Online fraud has caused a staggering loss of over 74 billion baht, with the most common being online sale of goods and services, work-from-home schemes and fake investments
Thai authorities are calling for stronger awareness campaigns on internet safety and scam prevention after a recent report revealed staggering losses from online fraud.
A report on thaipoliceonline.com shows the fraudulent trading of goods and services as the most common form of online fraud in Thailand, with locals losing an alarming 74.8 billion baht over the past three years (March 1, 2022, to October 31, 2024).
Kamron Polpornklang, a deputy government spokesperson, revealed the shocking numbers on Friday, saying the report details a total of 708,141 online fraud complaints filed during that period, averaging a daily loss of 77 million baht.
The authorities have successfully frozen 544,183 accounts linked to online scams, amounting to a combined total of over 43 billion baht. However, the frozen assets remain far below the total losses, the report said.
The top five most reported online scams are:
- Goods or services sale: 4.72 billion baht in damages
- Work-from-home schemes: 11.35 billion baht in damages
- Investment scams: 26.89 billion baht in damages
- Loan scams: 3.42 billion baht in damages
- Telephone extortion: 10.06 billion baht in damages
The report also details a concerning trend last month, with 36,138 complaints of online scams filed, translating to an average daily loss of 89 million baht. Though the authorities have frozen over 20,000 accounts, a significant proportion of the lost funds remains unrecovered.
Kamron stressed the importance of increasing public awareness and education on internet safety measures. He also urged people who fall victim to online scams to report the incident immediately through thaipoliceonline.com or by calling the 1441 police hotline or the Anti-Fraud Center at (081) 866 3000.
