Govt eyes tougher online scam laws

New safeguards rapidly to increase protection

According to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Economy and Society Prasert Jantararuangtong yesterday, the government is considering toughening laws to stop online fraud while continuing to improve protection for buyers who purchase items from the internet.

Senator Wutthiphong Phongsuwan made a movement in response to Mr. Prasert’s concern over the rising number of online scams, which he perceived as a serious risk to the nation’s financial security. The legislator urged more efficient government measures to stop online frauds.

” I admit there have been more than 500, 000 cases ]of online scamming ] while only about 60, 000 are now in the hands of the Royal Thai Police”, he said.

He claimed that after five years of use, some rules must be changed. He gave an example of enforcing laws governing the prosecution of online scams and other crimes connected to the lawful function of so-called call center gangs.

Mr. Prasert claimed that the government and the Anti-Money Laundering Office have already discussed legal changes, which could lead to a quicker seizure of property belonging to a gang of online criminals. He claimed that “asset chilling is viewed as a successful strategy to repel online scam gangs.”

Mr. Prasert said that his government and a number of other organizations have increased crackdowns on illegal attempt to connect to the internet and mobile phone network operated in Thailand through wires laid across the border from a neighboring state in another area of efforts to stop online scams.

According to him, four internet service providers were fined 677,500 baht in August for breaking the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission’s ( NBTC ) legal guidelines for preventing online crime. But following this tougher destruction, some groups have turned to new computer and communications technologies, including low Earth orbit dish systems, which the NBTC is trying to deal with, said Mr Prasert.

According to him, users will be able to examine the products they have ordered online in the cash-on-delivery solution before paying under a new client security measure, which improves protection for online shoppers starting on October 3.

He claimed that the need to improve laws in these areas was also addressed at a gathering of the president’s technology offense suppression committee last Friday.

The Anti Online Scam Operation Center’s operations were also improved by Mr. Prasert next year, from November 2023 to August 2024. Online crime-related damage was reduced to 75 million baht per day in August alone, a 36 % decrease from the 116 million baht per day in the period from January to June.