On Thursday, Mr. Prasert Jantararuangtong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Economy and Society of Thailand, announced that the country will introduce a new law similar to the one used in Singapore aimed at deterring scams and assisting victims.
The new law will address several key matters. The first is that financial institutions and mobile phone operators will be required to take responsibility by following specific measures. Mr. Prasert confirmed that he had already discussed this with both parties, and they have agreed to cooperate.
The second aspect involves the process of returning scammed money, which is still under discussion, particularly regarding the amount to be reimbursed. The final matter is the increase in penalties for offenders. All these matters are now being reviewed by the Council of State’s office for consideration.
Mr. Prasert added that on January 1, a new measure will be introduced, requiring SMS messages to include embedded links for registration, where the sender must identify their status. If the sender’s information is not found, the operator will suspend the message from being sent.
In Singapore, the law is called the Shared Responsibility Framework (SRF), which came into effect on December 16, 2024. It is considered a waterfall approach, with financial institutions being the first line of defense to prevent, warn, and assist potential victims, followed by mobile phone operators.
Both parties must fulfill the detailed responsibilities outlined under the SRF. The party that fails to do so will be held fully responsible for compensating the victim, as Singapore will not introduce any liability cap for losses.
In addition to the SRF, the national police may soon be granted the authority to freeze victim accounts in cases where they are scammed but continue to send money to the scammer.
By holding financial institutions and mobile phone operators responsible for deterring scam operations, this will greatly benefit many civilians. Scammers often use various tricks and persuasive tactics to manipulate their victims. Even individuals who view themselves as cunning may fall for these schemes or be influenced by their deceptive tactics.
However, all parties must continuously adapt, as scammers may evolve or find new ways to bypass the system. For example, a scammer might pretend to be a victim in order to deceive one of the responsible parties and scam money from them.
The current proposal by the Thai DE minister is addressing the symptoms rather than the root cause, but it is the first step that Thailand needs to take. To further solidify the defense from scammers, authorities may need to take another step just like what Singapore is proposing or any other possible ways. This could mean authorities, mobile operators or banks may require access to your personal data, which in fact they already have when you register or sign a consent to use their services. Some may argue that it violates personal privacy by allowing these parties to access personal info. Still, it could be seen as a reasonable permission, given it could save people millions of their fortune.
To put these into law, the government must set a specific and strict limit of how much these parties can access to protect individual privacy.
Nevertheless, it is reassuring to know that there are now measures in place to combat this type of criminal activity that has plagued not just Thailand but globally for several years.
