Phuket residents urged to check online investments after B260m weekly scam losses
Thai police recorded 6,060 online-fraud complaints nationwide from August 9-15, with women and people aged 21-30 among the most frequently victimised groups.
Residents in Phuket are being urged to scrutinise online investment offers after Thai police recorded 6,060 online-fraud complaints and B260 million in reported losses nationwide from August 9-15.
The Anti Cyber Scam Center (ACSC) said financial and investment scams caused the week’s largest losses, at nearly B80 million, or about 30.7% of the total. Scams involving goods and services were the most frequently reported category, accounting for 4,682 complaints, or 77.3%.
The ACSC advised investors to use the Securities and Exchange Commission’s SEC Check First application to confirm that a company is authorised, its licence details are valid, and its executives and advisers are correctly listed. Investors should also ensure that the receiving account belongs to the authorised company and should treat requests to transfer money to a personal account as a warning sign.
Women continued to be victimised more often than men, while people aged 21-30 remained the most frequently affected age group. Bangkok recorded the highest number of complaints, with 138 cases and B63.3 million in losses, followed by Nonthaburi with 36 cases and Chiang Mai with 27.
Authorities said the ACSC and banks intervened in 13 cases during the week, stopping transfers worth more than B600,000 before the money reached accounts believed to be controlled by scammers.
