Ministry to target online scams with war room and ‘cyber vaccine’

The first step of the ministry’s plan is to set up a “Task Force Command Centre”, or war room, Minister Prasert Chantararuangthong said on Friday.

It will take aggressive action against cyber crimes, including financial scams and other online threats. It will also crack down on those who pretend to be government officials or agencies and create fake websites to scam victims, Prasert added.

The second part of the plan is to use advanced technology, such as data analytics and AI, to monitor online information for fake news through an anti-fake news centre. The centre will allow people to check the URLs of news or information sites. It will use AI to check the database of fake news sites the ministry has accumulated for more than four years and analyse whether the information matches the pattern of past fake news, the minister explained.

Prasert said his ministry would also give a “cyber vaccine” to those who face a high risk of being scammed, namely children, students, and seniors.

“We will provide suitable learning activities for these groups, so they can develop an immunity against scammers and fake news,” he explained. “By spreading this immunity at family and community levels, we will be able to create a culture of using discretion in news consumption and sharing of information over the internet, and ultimately reduce the risk of being scammed,” he said.