The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) of Thailand, in collaboration with the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO), has launched a major operation to regulate mobile banking and combat call center scams, suspending 1,096,000 phone numbers belonging to users with more than 101 SIM cards.
Pol. Gen. Nathathorn Prousoontorn, a member of the NBTC board along with other high-ranking officials, held a meeting to follow up on the progress of tackling call center gangs. They announced several measures being implemented.
The main measures include suspending unverified SIM cards: users who have not verified their identities according to NBTC regulations will have their services suspended.
NBTC has already suspended 2,141,317 unverified SIM cards, and for those holding 101 or more SIM cards, 1,096,000 SIM cards have been suspended.
The authorities have also investigated fraudulent mobile banking SIM cards. NBTC received data from 21 banks through AMLO, covering 79 million bank accounts and 113,568,836 mobile banking phone numbers. This information is being analyzed to ensure that SIM card owners match the bank account holders.
The verification process is ongoing and expected to be completed by the end of July 2024.
NBTC, along with the Royal Thai Police, is cracking down on illegal telecom signal towers installed along the border in five provinces – Tak, Chiang Rai, Sa Kaeo, Chanthaburi and Ranong, which were facilitating call center gangs’ operations. So far, 29 offenders have been prosecuted. (TNA)
