BANGKOK, 4 June 2014 – Police, banks and internet service providers are teaming up find ways to prevent the rampant ATM skimming activities carried out by gangs of foreigners.
Deputy Royal Thai Police Commissioner Ek Angsananon on Tuesday met with representatives from banks and ISPs to deliberate measures against ATM card skimmers. Those at the meeting agreed to increase exchanges of information on the skimming issue, and the police promised it would quickly set up a database of foreign gangs that have committed offenses in Thailand. The police will also monitor and try to prevent buying and selling of card skimming machines.
Thai Bankers’ Association secretary-general Thawatchai Yongkittikun said after the meeting that all banks have been asked to install devices that protect against ATM card skimming at all ATM machines within 3 months. The banks also agreed to switch from the cards with magnetic strip to ones with embedded chips, by January 1, 2016. The new type of cards is believed to be more resistant to skimming or information extraction.
