The Anti-Online Fraud Center (ACSC) revealed its February scam report showing victims lost nearly one billion baht, with purchase fraud ranking number one. The center also listed the government agencies most commonly impersonated by scammers.
The Anti-Online Fraud Center (ACSC), under the leadership of Police General Thana Chuwong, Deputy Commissioner of Police and Director of the Police Operations Center, and Police Lieutenant General Jiraphop Puridech, Assistant Commissioner of Police and Deputy Director of the Police Operations Center, released statistics on online fraud cases and damages in February totaling 28,180 cases. The highest reported fraud type was purchase scams, with over 3,753 cases involving general merchandise. Fashion/brand-name goods and food/beverages ranked second and third, respectively. The most frequently reused fake profile name was “Donut Nut,” involved in 23 concert ticket sale scams causing damage over 220,000 baht.
Second in frequency were job and other benefit scams with 4,576 cases, consisting of three types of job-related fraud:
- Scams involving online part-time work (liking, sharing, placing orders) amounted to 2,404 cases, causing losses over 380 million baht.
- Scams promising online shop openings totaled 681 cases, with damages nearing 79 million baht.
- Scams demanding fees for overseas work permits, commissions, or processing fees reported 60 cases, with losses exceeding 6 million baht.
Meanwhile, benefit-related scams occurred in two forms:
- Online loan service scams advertised on Facebook accounted for 301 cases with damages over 3 million baht, TikTok had 132 cases with losses over 1.4 million baht, and Line app scams totaled 85 cases causing over 1.7 million baht in damage.
- Scams involving fake prize claims, inheritances, or financial aid were divided into: 1. Free product scams (dietary supplements, plants, books) with 125 cases causing over 17 million baht in damages; 2. Pension-related scams, often claiming to protect civil servant pension accounts or offer aid, with 59 cases and losses over 22 million baht; 3. Scams requiring payment to receive parcels, 49 cases causing more than 14 million baht in damage; and 4. Claims of land tax refunds totaling 37 cases with 7.7 million baht lost.
Third were impersonation scams with 2,415 reported cases. Among these, four government agencies were most frequently impersonated.
- Impersonation of Electricity Authority officials accounted for 234 cases causing nearly 25 million baht in damages.
- Impersonation of state officials such as Police, Anti-Money Laundering Office, and DSI totaled 133 cases with damages close to 37 million baht.
- Impersonation of Comptroller General's Department officials involved 128 cases causing over 49 million baht in losses.
- Impersonation of bank officials accounted for 85 cases with damages exceeding 18 million baht.
The Anti-Online Fraud Center (ACSC) warns the public to exercise greater caution when communicating on all social media platforms, as scammers frequently use these channels, as outlined above. People should also verify the identity of unknown callers claiming to be officials or representatives of various agencies before taking any action. This includes calls from those pretending to be friends, relatives, or acquaintances requesting money loans, asset transfers, or transactions. The public is advised to confirm with the actual individuals before responding to avoid falling victim to fraud.