Netizens lose 29 billion baht
The Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) said it received more than 200,000 online fraud complaints with total losses of about 29 billion baht alleged over the last 11 months.
Thanatat: Cases ‘hard to solve’
Citing a report by the Thai Journalists Association yesterday, Pol Lt Col Thanatat Kangruambut, CCIB Cyber Support Unit inspector, said the victims lost at least 100 million baht per day.
He said the agency has received 207,678 online complaints filed at www.thaipoliceonline.com since March.
The total damage is estimated to be 29.24 billion baht.
More than 95% of the online fraudsters were foreign nationals running schemes in neighbouring countries, Pol Lt Col Thanatat said.
“Once the money has been stolen from victims, it is immediately transferred to bank accounts opened overseas,” he said. “Most of the money will then be laundered via real estate acquisition.”
Agents have managed to recover just 10% of the victims’ money, he said.
Over the years, online fraud has become more advanced, with criminals working in small groups with specific tasks ranging from social engineering to software development, he said.
Many people, particularly the young, easily fall victim to online fraud, he said.
One of the most concerning forms of cybercrime is manipulation commonly found on dating apps, he said, noting many victims are women over 45 years old and those who have experienced troubled relationships.
He said fraudsters dupe victims online after gathering personal information from social media profiles.
The criminals then “go for the kill” by introducing themselves with a fabricated identity, he said.
Over time, the fraudsters are able to exploit emotional vulnerabilities and manipulate victims into transferring their money, he said.
“Romance scams are considered a hard case to solve as 90% of registrations on dating apps do not require identity verification, which leads to the creation of fake profiles,” he said.
Amporn Benjaponpitak, director-general of the Department of Mental Health, said victims tend to refrain from filing complaints out of embarrassment.
She said it is vital that victims register their complaints so the authorities will have enough information to chase after fraudsters and bring them to justice.