Thailand Launches Anti-Online Scam Center to Combat Cybercrimes

The Thai Government has officially launched the Anti-Online Scam Operation Center (AOC) as of  November 1st, aiming to protect financial institutes and individuals from cyber crimes. 

According to Thailand’s government, AOC will investigate the online scams regulated to cryptocurrency and protect the public from proliferating digital crimes. They also claimed it would collaborate with financial authorities and police investigation departments. Moreover, AOC members can also support the country’s jurisdiction by designing strict regulations that raise the bar for online scammers. The AOC department is located at the head office of National Telecom in Bangkok. The operational center is responsible for monitoring all online activities, identifying potential threats, and taking the necessary steps to address them. Moreover, the department also has a duty to educate the public about online scams and provide them with tips on how to avoid them.

The Anti-Money Laundering Office, the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau, the Department of Special Investigation, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission, the Bank of Thailand, the Thai Bankers Association, the Department of Digital Economy and Society (DES), and other pertinent agencies have also collaborated in setting up the AOC. The public can call the AOC hotline 1441 to report the digital scam and to get advice about how to protect from cybercrime and control damage after being scammed. According to DES Minister, Prasert Chantararuangthong, AOC is a one-stop solution for the public to prevent cyber crimes and helps users to save their money when bank security breaches happen. He added that the department would freeze the scammer’s accounts and track the money trail scammers use to scam a victim, as well as they can cancel suspicious transactions to minimise the damage. AOC utilizes advanced AI and machine learning technology to analyze the scammer’s profile and find them out through big data. 

According to the High-Tech Crime Division of the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau, there are 700 cases of scams and fraudulent transactions per day, 40% of which include cybercrimes. Previously, victims of these scams had to report various organisations, leading to delays of weeks and months before their bank accounts were frozen. The Thai government had earlier claimed that over 365,000 incidents of internet scams had been reported during the previous 18 months, resulting in a 45 billion baht loss. 

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