Anti-online crime hotline flooded with 15,000 calls

The Digital Economy and Society Ministry launched the line on November 1 as a one-stop service centre to help victims of online scammers by coordinating with police to take action and with banks to freeze suspected mule accounts.

Wetang Phuangsup, the deputy permanent secretary for the DES Ministry, said the AOC 1441 was satisfied with the public response and the resulting coordination with banks to freeze 680 bank accounts within one hour after receiving each call.

According to Wetang, the AOC’s operations during the first six days were:

- Nov 1: 1,310 calls, 12 bank accounts frozen

- Nov 2: 2,752 calls, 73 bank accounts frozen

- Nov 3: 2,711 calls, 137 bank accounts frozen

- Nov 4: 2,820 calls, 124 bank accounts frozen

- Nov 5: 2,037 calls, 125 bank accounts frozen

- Nov 6: 3,370 calls, 209 bank accounts frozen

Wetang said the AOC encountered two main obstacles during the first six days of operations.

First, the hotline was flooded with too many calls from 9am to 5pm, resulting in a long wait and causing many callers to hang up.

Wetang said the number of calls jumped from 1,310 on the first day to 3,370 on the sixth day.

Second, AOC officials had problems in contacting banks to freeze accounts on the first and second days, but the problem was solved on the third day.

The AOC was formed with the goal to help victims get their money back as soon as possible by using digital technologies to integrate operations of all agencies concerned.

Meanwhile, DES Minister Prasert Chanthararuangthong said he was informed that the number of calls to the AOC jumped on the second and third days, causing callers to wait too long with many callers having to hang up.

Prasert said he instructed the centre to solve the problem and minimise waiting time.

Prasert also thanked the Royal Thai Police, the Bank of Thailand and the Thai Bankers Association for cooperating the centre to fast solving problems for the victims.