Up to 500k bank accounts possibly used for fraud

In November, fresh personality verification for ATM cash reserves will go into effect.

Up to 500k bank accounts possibly used for fraud
Customers at a Bangkok office store use cash deposit machines and automated teller machines. ( Image: Wichieanbut Nutthawat )

According to the Anti-Money Laundering Office ( Amlo ), which is introducing measures to address the issue, up to 500,000 bank accounts could be” mule” accounts opened to facilitate fraud.

People who use ATMs to deposit money will need to confirm their identities starting next month in order to enable more accurate transaction monitoring, according to the statement.

Out of the 121 million animal accounts already in use globally, Amlo estimates that between 200 000 and 500 000 may exist.

Amlo officials and the officers Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau are looking through accounts that they believe may have been created by fraud gang proxies.

He claimed that so far, the organizations have located more than 10,000 individuals who have opened over 70,000 horse accounts.

Authorities investigations into fraud cases in which victims’ money transfers were tracked allowed for identification.

When the account information was sent to the appropriate professional banks, they were soon frozen.

According to Mr. Witthaya, Amlo has been learning more about surrogate accounts and has discovered that they are growing roughly 1,000 per month.

Beginning on November 11, those who deposit money through ATMs had provide identification. The creditor may enter their citizenship ID number and mobile phone number for each device deposit of up to 30, 000 baht. The bank will then provide the borrower with a one-time passcode( OTP ) before allowing them to complete the transaction.

The creditor must provide information about their ATM, debit cards, or credit card as well as their personal identification amount( PIN ) for a device deposit of 30, 000 to 100 000 ringgit.

According to Mr. Witthaya, Amlo has seized and frozen more than 9.4 billion baht worth of assets in scams and virtual gambling cases over the past 12 months. With property valued at 8.8 billion ringgit claimed by the state, the majority of circumstances have been resolved in court.