Thailand’s Minister of Digital Economy and Society (DES), Chaiwut Thanakmanusorn, disclosed that the Cabinet adopted the Royal Decree Measures for Prevention and Suppression of Technology Crime in principle. Accordingly, the act was assigned to the Office of the Council of State for consideration before further enforcement.

In essence, the proposed order prescribes steps to prevent and suppress deceit in people transferring money by telephone or other means. The law also grants authorities the authority to regulate financial transactions. It prohibits opening accounts on electronic cards or wallets to bring money or property to be used in criminal acts.

The proposed Decree requires financial institutions and business operators to disclose information about their client’s accounts and transactions via a data exchange system to suspend transactions when necessary.

“The drafting of this law is a collaboration of several agencies, including the Royal Thai Police, the NBTC Office, and the Bank of Thailand. Thai Bankers Association Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO), etc., believe that this regulation will undoubtedly assist in eliminating the problem of ghost sims, pony accounts, and online crime problems,” Chaiwut clarified.

Procedures for halting transactions can be done when a financial institution or business operator discovers a questionable issue or is told by a competent official. They must advise financial institutions or business owners to halt transactions. The transmitting financial institution or company operator must promptly halt future transactions. They can comply with the transaction if they inspect and find no suspicious cause.

If the victim reports a fraudulent transaction, financial institutions or business operators must immediately and temporarily cease transactions and tell financial institutions or business operators receiving transfers to do the same. For the victim to file a complaint with the investigators within 48 hours, the investigators must act on that account and electronic wallet within seven days of notification. Notification of information or evidence can be sent by phone or electronically.

Furthermore, Telecommunication Service Providers have the authority to communicate information and allow the Royal Thai Police, AMLO offices, and approved agencies to view the information exchanged. At the same time, the Office of the NBTC is in charge of developing the central database for user registration information, short messages, investigation, and prevention.

The use or disclosure of personal data to prevent, detect, and deter online crime will follow personal data protection legislation. It is required to properly tackle the social media problem of fraudulent people and eliminate some legal issues that cause the integration of work between multiple agencies to be stopped or delayed in the current situation.

The act governs the usage of an account and a SIM card. It will instruct consumers to create a personal account for an electronic card or wallet. The act of opening a without the purpose of using it will be considered an infringement. Anyone who knowingly or ought to knowingly allow another individual to use or borrow their SIM card is breaking the law since criminals could use it for fraud or illegal conduct. Breaches of this law may be imprisonment for up to three years or a fine of up to 300,000 baht (US$9163.10) or both.

It is illegal for anybody to obtain, market, or post news to purchase or sell accounts, electronic cards, electronic wallets, or phone sim cards that may result in criminal activity. Anyone who breaches this will face imprisonment for 2 to 5 years and a fine ranging from 200,000 baht (US$9163.1) to 500,000 baht (US$15271.84) or both.

When aberrant behaviour is discovered or a complaint is made to the bank and enables banks and relevant organisations to reveal and exchange information about online crimes through a standard database system. Thai authorities have the authority to suspend or postpone financial transactions for an extended length of time.

Special Wisit Wisitsorn-at, Professor, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, expressed the MDES need to present the draft to the Office of the Council of State for review and consideration before the announcement goes into effect.

Chaiwut Thanakmanusorn, Minister of Digital Economy and Society (DES), evaluated the effectiveness of the country’s efforts to prevent online crime. He directed Wetan Phuangsub, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, to continue cracking down on illicit cross-border internet use, ghost SIM fixation, and the suppression of fraudulent accounts.

“The problem of cybercrime impacts many persons’ lives and possessions. The NBTC office dealt with many SIM owners who had not yet registered officially, thanks to the collaboration of the AMLO Office and the Banking Association in resolving the false account situation. Including the illicit use of the Internet throughout the nation and the Royal Thai Police, which hastens the prosecution of offenders,” Chaiwut praised.

Meanwhile, Thepsu Bowonchotdara, Deputy Secretary-General of the AMLO Office; Pol. Maj. Gen. Niwet Apawasin, Technology Crime Investigation Bureau; and Suthisak Tantayothin, Deputy Secretary-General of the NBTC Office, provided reports on progress in combating online crime.

To address ghost SIM issues, the NBTC has mandated that about 8,000 users with more than 100 SIM cards prove their identification by January 23. In addition, in the case of illicit cross-border internet trafficking, the NBTC has directed telecommunications service providers to investigate the use of cross-border internet services. The agency has also collaborated with necessary legal officials to check and locate the crime site and the perpetrator.

Meanwhile, the AMLO Office has issued a notification to resolve bogus accounts and suspected accounts used for unlawful activity. When a criterion for determining or revising the list of high-risk individuals arises, the notice alerts. The suspicious performance will be continuously monitored following that, in compliance with the Ministerial Regulation on Customer Fact-Awareness. Furthermore, the AMLO has notified financial institutions of around 1,000 identities of offenders. The financial institution will continue to take appropriate steps.

Aside from that, Thailand is increasing efforts to raise citizen awareness of cybercrime. The Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA) and the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society have launched a programme to help people strengthen their online literacy abilities.

Chaiwut agrees that as Thailand enters the digital era, cyber dangers have intensified, with technology and online transactions driving practically all activity. With 59,794 online complaints, ETDA recorded an increase in online scams 348 times in 2022 (January – November 2022). In comparison, only 54 interactions were made in 2021.

The information was gathered via the online complaint-handling service of the 1212ETDA Online Help and Problem Management Centre. The contact centre observed that the most common internet scam is still online trading problems, followed by unlawful websites, call centre gangs, SMS fraud, etc.

Furthermore, the government has established an application to help safeguard individuals against internet scammers, fake news, and financial fraud, which are significant concerns in Thailand. The Ministry of Digital worked with the state-owned Krung Thai Bank to establish “Pao Tang,” an online scam and disinformation warning system.

The app will not only provide financial services, but it will also serve as another avenue for disseminating information, as confirmed by government organisations. The apps will issue warnings about internet fraud and fake news associated with financial fraud or financial crime. As a result, consumers can keep up with the current situation and manage the new complexity that has caused significant damage.

The technology will connect data from the Anti-Fake News Centre (AFNC) databases at the Ministry of Digital Affairs to service providers. Furthermore, the wallet software sends warnings regarding financial fraud and erroneous information in various formats.