Scams are rampant in Thailand. Nearly 170,000 online fraud cases were reported in 16 months, resulting in losses of nearly 40 billion baht.

In recent years, online fraud has become increasingly rampant in Thailand. The authorities estimate that Thais have lost more than 10 billion baht (approximately 2.055 billion yuan) per year due to online fraud in the past few years.

According to a survey by the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society of Thailand, from March 1, 2022 to July 15 this year, the Thai authorities received more than 296,000 online fraud reports. More than 20,000 people were defrauded, causing people losses of NT$391. 100 million baht (approximately 8.037 billion yuan).

Scams are rampant in Thailand. Nearly 170,000 online fraud cases were reported in 16 months, resulting in losses of nearly 40 billion baht.

The Cyber ​​Crime Investigation Department of the Thai Police said that online scammers mainly engage in online shopping fraud, luring job seekers to transfer money, loan fraud, investment fraud and phone threats. In the past 14 months, the economic losses from this type of fraud reached 11.5 billion baht (approximately 2.364 billion yuan).

Bakorn, president of the Stock Exchange of Thailand, said many people (currently in Thailand) have fallen victim to investment scams as scammers impersonate organizations and celebrities to lure people into participating in fraudulent investment schemes and online criminal activities.

However, it is not easy to catch the person behind the online fraud. According to the police database, most of the behind-the-scenes masterminds are foreigners living in other countries, so it is difficult for the police to arrest them.

In the past, criminal gangs from Taiwan have employed Thai criminals to commit financial fraud because they needed Thai-speaking employees. Later, these illegal activities gradually moved to criminal gangs in mainland China. Recently, Thai criminals who once worked for foreign criminal gangs have begun to imitate the gangs' practices and defraud their own compatriots. They often use neighboring countries such as Cambodia as a base for their illegal activities.