Thai authorities are considering further restrictions on internet access along the Thai-Myanmar border, a region known for its numerous scam syndicates.
A committee will visit the Mae Sot district in Tak province to assess the potential effects of this plan on residents this week, according to Siam Hathasongkorh, chairman of the House Committee on Communications, Telecommunications, and Digital Economy and Society.
The committee includes representatives from the National Telecom Public Company Limited (NT), telecommunications operators and the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC).
Mr Siam's remarks followed a meeting on Thursday with officials from various government agencies, including the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) and the Anti-Online Crime Centre (AOC), as well as representatives from several social media platforms, such as Facebook and TikTok, in response to the rising number of victims of online scams.
Mr Siam said the meeting also discussed ways to help victims in recovering their funds from scammers, but he pointed out that relevant laws have not yet been amended to facilitate asset recovery. Although a second draft of a new cybersecurity act has been approved by the cabinet, it still requires parliamentary endorsement.
He added that the tendency of scam syndicates to convert their stolen assets into cryptocurrency adds complexity to recovery efforts, as digital assets — unlike physical goods — are not easily auctioned off.
When asked about the government's plan to prevent more people from becoming victims of online scams, Mr Siam said the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society and the NBTC are working together to raise public awareness of fraud.
He urged the public to ignore suspicious calls from unidentified numbers, referencing a recent incident where a university student was coerced into transferring over 500,000 baht to scammers after spending more than 17 hours on the phone with them.
