Total cost of online scams revealed
Online scams cost victims 77.36 billion baht in damages from March 1, 2022, to November 30 this year, government spokesman Karom Polpornklang reported on Sunday.
Citing Royal Thai Police data, he said 739,494 complaints were filed to the police during the period, with damages totalling 77.36 billion baht, or 77 million baht a day.
Some 560,412 bank accounts with 8.67 billion baht on deposit had been frozen to cope with cybercriminals’ tricks, he said.
From November 1 to 30 this year, 31,353 complaints had been filed to the police, with damages totalling 2.54 billion baht, or 85 million baht a day.
Some 16,229 bank accounts were frozen in November, he said, adding that 383 million baht of deposits had been frozen.
Karom outlined the five online scams with the highest number of complaints:
- Purchase of products and services: 146 million baht in damages
- Fund transfers for seeking jobs: 526 million baht in damages
- Call-centre scams: 444 million baht in damages
- Loan requests: 99 million baht in damages
- Fund transfers for claiming prizes or other purposes: 221 million baht in damages
He asked people to be careful of cybercriminals’ tricks, saying that victims can file complaints online by visiting www.thaipoliceonline.com, or contact Anti Online Scam Operation Centre 1441 or Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau 081 866 3000.
