Thai officials are calling for stronger awareness campaigns on internet safety and scam prevention after a report revealed substantial financial losses from online fraud.
According to thaipoliceonline.com, the most frequent type of online fraud in Thailand involves the fraudulent sale of goods and services, resulting in locals losing a staggering 74.8 billion baht between March 1, 2022, and October 31, 2024.
Deputy government spokesperson Kamron Polpornklang announced on Friday the alarming statistics from the report, which include 708,141 complaints of online fraud during this period, translating to an average daily loss of 77 million baht.
Law enforcement has managed to freeze 544,183 accounts associated with online scams, securing more than 43 billion baht. Despite these efforts, the total value of frozen assets remains significantly lower than the overall financial losses, according to the report.
The five most prevalent online scams reported are:
– Sales of goods or services: 4.72 billion baht in damages
– Work-from-home schemes: 11.35 billion baht in damages
– Investment fraud: 26.89 billion baht in damages
– Loan fraud: 3.42 billion baht in damages
– Telephone extortion: 10.06 billion baht in damages
Last month saw a particularly troubling spike in online scam complaints, with 36,138 incidents reported, averaging a daily financial loss of 89 million baht.
Despite the freezing of over 20,000 related accounts last month, a significant amount of money has yet to be recovered.
Kamron emphasized the critical need for greater public education on safe internet practices and urged victims of online scams to report incidents promptly through thaipoliceonline.com, or by calling the 1441 police hotline or the Anti-Fraud Center at (081) 866 3000.
