Bangkok (VNA) - A new emergency decree requiring financial institutions, telecommunications providers, and social media platform owners to share responsibility for failing to prevent fraud officially came into effect in Thailand on April 13.
Minister of Digital Economy and Society Prasert Jantararuangtong said the new law was aimed at protecting people from losing assets to scams based on calls and electronic channels.
The decree on measures to prevent and suppress technology crime requires financial institutions and business operators to reveal information about accounts and financial transactions suspected of being involved in scams
Phone and telecom service providers must screen out the short messages that may be involved in scams. The Office of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission must stop telecom services related to scams.
Financial institutions, telecom operators and social media platform owners that fail to follow anti-scam measures are liable to a fine of up to 500,000 THB (14,900 USD). Any individual who is responsible for the failure is liable to a jail term of up to one year and/or a fine of 100,000 THB.
Under the new decree, those who fail to have mobile phone subscribers properly register for services to prevent scams are liable to a jail term of up to one year and/or a fine of up to 100,000 THB.
In addition, a decree on digital asset businesses was amended to require digital asset exchanges in other countries to seek service licences in Thailand before providing services in the country. The newly amended decree took effect on April 13 as well.
Earlier, it was difficult for authorities to stop suspicious transactions by foreign digital asset exchanges that might support scammers’ money transfers./.
