ABOUT 40,000 Thais are believed to have fallen victim to online fraud recently, losing a total of at least 10 million baht (RM1.25 million).
With many police reports already lodged on the unauthorised online transactions, Thai police have stepped up their investigations and are working closely with the central bank Bank of Thailand and the Thai Bankers' Association to find a solution.
Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) commissioner Pol Lt Gen Kornchai Klaiklung, said initial checks found around 40,000 people have lost their money through such transactions.
According to a Bangkok Post report, the majority of the victims did not even realise their money was being withdrawn as the perpetrators generally charged small amounts repeatedly.
Kornchai said such withdrawals were possible if the perpetrators managed to get their hands on customers' bank card details, which are often stored by online retailers and websites for faster payment.
Police believe several gangs are responsible for the online crimes and they could have used a variety of methods to commit them.
The report said that some gangs "phish" for their victims' details by sending out text messages which asked them to fill in their personal details in exchange for discounts and other perks.
He said some charges and withdrawals were also believed to have been made by store employees who stole their customers' card details when their victims were completing a transaction.
The commander of CCIB's cyber crime analysis division Pol Maj Gen Niwet Apawasin said that some of the fraudulent charges were initiated by online gaming platforms.
He added that it would be easier to investigate applications registered in Thailand than those registered outside the country.
He said police will hold discussions with the Bank of Thailand and online vendors on finding ways to prevent such fraud.
This include the possibility of making the registration of online shops mandatory or issuing alerts when suspicious withdrawals are made.
Meanwhile, government spokesman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has instructed all agencies to take urgent action to put an end to the problem.
It follows the Bank of Thailand and Thai Bankers' Association statement on Sunday, saying banks would accept responsibility for unauthorised withdrawals.
The statement said no commercial banks' systems have been hacked and that the fraudulent transactions were made to online shops registered outside Thailand.
The Post also reports that many victims have now started sharing their experiences on a Facebook page called "Sharing Experience on Unaware Cash Withdrawals".
They also questioned the security and reliability of Thai banks' because no alerts were received when the unauthorised withdrawals were made.
Many only found out about it when they went to a bank to update their passbook.
While the total number of victims remained unclear, the Facebook page account had more than 57,000 followers as of Monday.
Deputy police spokesman Pol Col Kissana Phathanacharoen said victims should ask banks to freeze their account if they suspect an unauthorised withdrawal has been made, before filing a police report.
He warned that those who misuse or abuse others' electronic cards face a jail term of no more than five years and/or a fine of no more than 100,000 baht under Thai law.
