Police say many online fraud complaints go unaddressed due to lack of evidence
In a bid to effectively track down online fraudsters, the police are encouraging victims to proactively collect essential evidence when filing complaints.
Pol Maj-General Siriwat Deepor, deputy spokesman of the Royal Thai Police, said on Sunday that victims should capture screens, and save URLs, fake pages and profile information related to fraudulent activities.
He said, that since the police website (www.thaipoliceonline.go.th) was launched, many victims of online fraud have used this channel to file complaints. However, he said, police faced a significant challenge in processing the complaints because they did not have key evidence.
So, to address this issue, Siriwat outlined three crucial steps that victims should take to ensure police investigators have enough evidence to arrest suspects:
• Screen capturing: Victims are advised to capture the screen of their mobile phone as evidence against fraud. The screen capturing can include essential information like dates and times of deceptive information posting.
• Save links or URLs: Police require URLs or internet addresses associated with deceptive posts. These are essential for cross-referencing with platform operators and serving as evidence in pursuing suspects.
• Save suspects’ profile information: Preserving the profile information of suspects on the platforms where deceptive posts were made offers additional valuable information to investigators. Online profiles are typically unique, so victims should save as much information as possible.
In addition to filing complaints on the website, victims can also seek urgent assistance by calling the 1441 24-hour hotline, he added.
