Following the Royal Decree, Thailand put the Technology Crime Prevention and Suppression Decree B.E. into practice with the assistance of relevant agencies. The law, which entered into force on March 17, 2023, intends to shield individuals from telephone and computer scams.
The Minister of Digital Economy and Society (DES), Chaiwut Kommananusorn, disclosed that numerous victims of these frauds had suffered severe harm as a result. Related agencies are moving fast to set up procedures and offer urgent support services in compliance with the Decree to lessen the populace’s suffering.
Recently, Chaiwut met with representatives from the National Police Agency Department of Special Investigation, the Office of the NBTC, the Bank of Thailand, the Thai Bankers’ Association, the AMLO Office, and the SEC Office to talk about operational procedures and avenues for quickly and conveniently serving the public.
All data has been connected through a centralised system by the Bank of Thailand and the Thai Bankers’ Association, allowing suspicious transactions to be automatically intercepted after the victim reports them. An automation process can swiftly halt suspicious transactions when the victim contacts the authorities.
Additionally, there have been other past workshops involving banks and other financial institutions. For example, workshops involving banks and other financial organisations have also been held to create rules for controlling online fraud from financial transactions.
Any suspicious transactions can be stopped, and victims may contact their bank. Within 72 hours, they can also report their cases to detectives via the online notification system. The qualified officials will wrap up the investigation within seven days of receiving notice.
To stop the loop of online crime, the National Police Agency is prepared to assist investigators and online reporting systems and will expedite the arrest of offenders. In addition, the Office of the NBTC and telephone operators are developing a plan for exchanging computerised traffic information to aid investigations.
The AMLO has formed a working group to compile a list of high-risk people who must be closely watched. The AMLO has informed financial institutions about around 1,000 offenders for surveillance to stop additional possibly harmful economic activities. The list of types of people implicated in predicate offences is now available.
Hackers from 9near were claimed to have data on more than 55 million Thai citizens. The government has had several laws to safeguard personal information and deter hackers. As a response to the case, Chaiwut asked all organisations to strengthen their data security standards and make any adjustments to the database system and information technology system to uphold the most effective means of care for the information of the public.
To protect personal data, the government has passed the PDPA law. There will be consequences if someone steals information and misuses it. People will also be prosecuted if they use information obtained from criminals to spread it or keep using it. He urged individuals to exercise caution while disclosing personal information to strangers.
He also cautioned citizens against entering their ID number, date of birth, or phone number when creating a login and password. Criminals will face harsh penalties. Chaiwut concluded that the maximum sentence for offences under the Computer Crimes Act related to the 9near case is five years in prison and data usage.
A person who uses personal information unlawfully is subject to punishment under the Personal Data Protection Act, which has a maximum penalty of 1 year in prison, 1 million baht in fines, or both, for each victim or one karma.
