web DeskThe NBTC, in collaboration with partner organizations, has launched ‘Scam Alert,’ a center for information on fraud warnings. The main distribution channels are Facebook and the Whoscall application feature. This centralized database platform will help warn of fraud and deal with various forms of online fraud promptly and comprehensively.
Over the past 2-3 years, online fraud has been a major problem affecting hundreds of thousands of Thais per year. Statistics from the Royal Thai Police between March 2022 and July 2024 found that damages from online fraud totaled almost 70 billion baht, or an average of 78 million baht per day. A preliminary survey from the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA) report for 2024 also found that only 55% of Thais are confident that they are aware of fraudsters, and 89% said that they have to deal with fraudsters at least once a month. This is in line with the current situation where fraudsters have taken advantage of technology to develop The scam method has become more sophistica
ted and sophisticated by creating fake news and fake websites, in addition to the traditional scams via spam calls and text messages. In the first six months of this year, Whoscall detected almost 19 million calls from scammers, while the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES) was able to shut down more than 47,000 distorted/fraudulent websites between October 2023 and August 2024.
Whoscall has collaborated with 11 public and private sector partners, led by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), recognizing that cybercrime is a major threat that affects not only consumers but also the government and businesses. Therefore, it has launched the ‘Scam Alert’ feature, the first centralized information center to prevent fraud from scammers in Thailand, to handle a large amount of data from untrustworthy sources, warn and educate the public about potential scams in various sectors.
Clinical Professor Dr. Saran Boonbaichaipruk, Chairman of the National Broadcasting and Telecommu
nications Commission (NBTC), said that cybercrime is a major threat that affects not only consumers but also the government and businesses. In the past few years, the NBTC has been working proactively with government agencies and leading private organizations to strengthen the country’s cybercrime prevention. It has issued regulations, rules and security guidelines to deal with cyber threats for the telecommunications sector. The Scam Alert project is another important step in creating a safer digital environment by sharing knowledge and promoting cooperation between the government and private sectors, strengthening the public’s ability to receive information and protect themselves from the increasing threats of online fraud. Currently, there are approximately 20 million users of Scam Alert and Whoscall applications in Thailand.
Mr. Manwoo Ju, Chief Executive Officer of Gogolook (Thailand), said that Thailand is currently facing a problem with online fraud that is continuously increasing. This has caused all
parties to turn to focus on warning and solving problems seriously, which is in line with Gogolook’s main mission, which is ready to offer comprehensive fraud prevention tools for consumers and businesses, and is ready to move forward with equipping the public with intellectual weapons to increase knowledge in preventing fraud threats through social projects such as the Cyber Vaccinated project in collaboration with the Royal Thai Police. However, fraud prevention requires integrated cooperation from all sectors. Therefore, the launch of the Scam Alert feature this time not only reflects our commitment to developing the Whoscall application into a comprehensive fraud prevention solution to protect users from fraud and keep them ahead of fraudsters’ fraud, but also strengthens cooperation between the public and private sectors that share the goal of promoting a safe and secure society free from fraudsters.
Services on the Scam Alert feature Scam Alert is a platform designed as a centralized database for the p
ublic. It is divided into direct warnings from government agencies and fraud warnings in various forms from private sector partners, which can be used on the Whoscall application free of charge in both free and premium versions.
? Latest Scam Alert (Scam Trending Alert) – Whoscall users can enable automatic notifications on the application to receive important and urgent fraud warnings, such as impersonation of important agencies, fraud with large and widespread damage, and personal data theft from government organizations such as the Royal Thai Police, Central Investigation Bureau, Cyber Police, NBTC, and NBTC. ?
Scam Education Content – This feature will be a platform that combines knowledge about fraud tactics and prevention tips from private sector and civil society networks, such as investment fraud, bill payment fraud, shopping fraud, e-commerce fraud, as well as reports and insights from Whoscall and the Global Anti-Scam Alliance (GASA).
Fraud prevention begins with receiving timely information from
reliable sources. In addition, users will get In addition to receiving warning information via the Scam Alert feature, Whoscall has other features to provide additional security protection for all users, such as Auto Web Checker to protect users from accidentally clicking on phishing links automatically, and ID Security (check for data leaks) to help check the security of personal information from free and premium features, Mr. Manwoo concluded.
In addition to users receiving warning information via the Scam Alert feature, the public can also use various tools developed by the government and private sectors as a mechanism to deal with fraudulent problems, such as reporting to the AOC 1441 Center or thaipolice.go.th or via the Central Investigation Bureau website at https://www.cib.go.th/e-service or reporting fraudulent numbers to the NBTC at 1200, free call, or reporting to each mobile service provider and various communication channels of partner organizations.
Source: Thai News Agency
