The Bank of Thailand (BoT) is concerned within the increasing number of youths being duped to open saving accounts in return for money.
Siritida Panomwon Na Ayudhya, assistant governor of the BoT, said “mule accounts”, because they are known, bring ill purposes by scammers. They use them for fraudulent on-line transactions, call-centre ripoffs or online bets. Mule accounts are utilized so they will not be followed back to them.
She stated the central financial institution instructed commercial banking institutions to monitor suspicious transactions among accounts opened by youths. The lady also suggests the maximum daily quantity for transactions via mobile banking apps, especially when youngsters are utilizing them. At present, the most is 500, 000 baht a day which is quite high, the lady said.
She said Robot has worked with the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB), Ministry of Digital, Economy plus Society (DES), the Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo), the National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission (NBTC) and the Thai Bankers Association to find measures in order to root out fraudulent vendors and con artists.
Mouthpiece government spokeswoman Ratchada Dhnadirek said young ones who are being compensated to open mule accounts can face lawbreaker charges. She mentioned some teens are paid 500-800 for each account.
She said the Royal Thai Law enforcement found the number of suspect accounts had jumped from 6, 211 in May to fourteen, 369 in Aug. “They want mom and dad to warn their particular teenage children never to open saving makes up about others. The accounts can be used for unlawful transactions, ” the girl said. If they do, the account owners will be considered accomplices and can face the maximum jail term of 10 years and a fine of up to 200, 000 baht.