Amidst rising issues over online fraud, the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (DES), in unison with the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) police and other related agencies, is launching an Anti Online Scam Operation Centre (AOC).
The AOC, which begins its operations on November 1, is set to function as a warfare room, implementing know-how to supply intelligent assistance, collecting and analysing relevant data pertaining to on-line scams.
The DES Minister, Prasert Jantararuangthong, emphasised the AOC as a proactive step towards addressing the challenges faced by the public in the realm of on-line fraud. The intent is to right away freeze any financial accounts implicated in fraudulent activities inside an hour of a victim’s notification.
The AOC shall be headquartered at National Telecom’s workplace on Chaeng Wattana Road. The public can report on-line rip-off incidents via the centre’s hotline, 1441, which is managed by the police.
Between Off-limits and August 2023, Prasert famous that online fraud instances peaked at 320,000, averaging approximately 600 instances per day. The financial impression of these scams was staggering, reaching forty three billion baht (US$1,169,925,000), averaging almost 80 million baht (US$ 2,176,604) every day, reported Bangkok Post.
“Traditional prevention and suppression strategies would not be in a position to solve this drawback.”
War room
The AOC and its war room operations, based on Prasert, shall be instrumental in enforcing the newly enacted law to deal with online scams. This legislation broadens the avenues obtainable to victims, banks, and authorities in combating on-line scammers and different unlawful on-line actions.
Under the new regulation, victims of on-line scams can instantly request for the suspension of a mule account created utilizing their stolen identification by way of 15 banks’ hotline numbers. They even have the option to file a criticism at a police station, in particular person or online.
Prasert divulged that the present system takes two days to freeze an account as quickly as the sufferer stories the fraud to the police or their financial institution.
Legal proceedings, underneath the standard system, can span roughly two months, from the purpose when the sufferer files a police grievance. This process entails liaising with the concerned banks and related agencies before initiating costs in opposition to the scammers.
Additionally, the ministry has amplified its efforts to counter online scams, together with the formation of particular activity forces to handle issues related to monetary fraud, on-line playing, and mule accounts.
Prasert stressed the need for enhanced cooperation with distinguished on-line social platforms. Urging them to take duty for consumer security, he underscored the significance of stopping scams on their platforms, corresponding to misleading ads posted by scammers meaning to defraud the basic public.
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