11 commercial banks no longer send SMS with links to clients: BOT
As a measure to prevent scams and phishing, 11 commercial banks have stopped sending SMS with links to their clients, the Bank of Thailand (BOT) announced on Thursday.
The BOT said the 11 banks that no longer attach links for their clients to click on via SMS messages are:
- Bangkok Bank
- Krungthai Bank
- Kasikornbank
- Siam Commercial Bank
- Land and House Bank
- Government Savings Bank
- Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC)
- TMB Thanachart Bank
- Government Housing Bank (GHB)
- United Overseas Bank (Thai)
The BOT added that Bangkok Bank, the BAAC and the GHB also no longer send emails with attached links for clients to click on.
The central bank said Bangkok Bank and the BAAC have also stopped using social media to attach links to clients to seek their personal information via OTP (one-time password).
The central bank said if bank clients receive an SMS, social media messages or emails with attached links from these banks, they must assume that they were sent by scammers to phish for key data to hack their bank accounts.
The BOT has sought cooperation from the commercial banks to stop sending links for clients to click on as a measure to prevent hacking of bank accounts following many complaints that bank customers lose money from their accounts after clicking on links attached in SMS, emails or social media messages.
Most banks have now turned to use the online identification process or their own apps for verification. But the clients must first go to a bank branch to scan their face before using the system.
