Facebook threatened with closure as it is linked to 70% of online fraud says outgoing minister

[spidermike007]

This is not the solution. It is a backwards concept, to shut down social media. Only a simpleton would conceive of something like this. It is far better to educate people about how to avoid scammers. Do not coddle people. Educate them. Alot of people just do not understand how corrosive, damaging, degrading and nasty social media can be. There are an infinite number of scammers, predators and fraudsters out there. Most of us have the good sense to avoid them, and not get taken in by their unwillingness to do actual work for a living. It boggles the mind, to consider the number of people who fall for these scams. Someone calls you, or contacts you online, and you send them money? Someone you have never met? Someone you have not researched? What gives? Where are the survival instincts? How is a youngster supposed to have the wisdom to know? Granted being asked to send naked pics to a stranger is a bit much. But, I am sure it happens all the time. There is little chance of these people getting apprehended. Very little.

And it is a strong indication of just how bent, warped and misguided contemporary culture and society is, that someone can be considered an idol or celebrity just because they have alot of followers on Tik tok, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Personally, I consider social media to be the most corrosive and degenerate force in culture today, and they can be downright dangerous, on multiple levels. 

Some people I know seem to like to "collect friends". Like is it some kind of badge of honor, to have over 1,000 "friends". I have seen some accounts with 5,000 friends. Nobody has 5,000 relationships with people. It is just another bizarre aspect of modern, contemporary popular culture, something I just cannot relate to. However, I am not a big social media guy. I consider twitter, instagram, and especially tiktok, to be highly corrosive and part of the reason for the decline of culture and modern civilization. Facebook does not seem as toxic. But, collecting friends is just bizarre, regardless.

The worst thing in the world anyone can do, when they have been scammed for a large amount of money, is to just let it go. There are a dozen alternatives to classic revenge. There are so many ways to go after a bad actor these days. Shame, online humiliation, direct access to family members, etc. The list is endless.  It just encourages the criminal. I would devote my life to finding him, pursue him to the ends of the earth, and make his life a living hell.

[John Drake]

13 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

How on Earth do you link this to Strettha? It has nothing to do with him. It's a minister from the outgoing government talking about something he will shortly have no authority to do.

Because it's in the OP. Or do you think Srettha has nothing to do with this "new government?"

"A new government is expected to be sworn in sometime in mid- September. One of the first challenges facing the newly installed communications minister is a crisis over the future of Facebook in Thailand."

[Snig27]

3 hours ago, ChipButty said:

it also generates a lot of income for Thai people, then they would also need to look at LINE I get a few dodgy messages through that, I never give out my number yet I keep getting added to new friends list, recent messages "are you still in Bangkok" I havent lived in Bangkok for 20 years, 

I get far more dodgy scams coming at me on Line than FB, but lest we forget this government operates on Line and Hotmail, plus is notorious for its four digit passwords. 

[Jack Cook]

Great just get rid of it. I stopped going there a year ago. Amazing the difference in how better you feel and how much real time you get to do real things in the real world when you delete it. Online merchants will just go to other platforms 

[Jaggg88]

Now, isn't outrage from netizens on FB that has caused people in authority to bow down to public opinion. Red Bull pardon, Joe Ferrari etc etc 

[Snig27]

9 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Educate them

Thailand puts a great deal of effort into NOT educating people. One of MFP's great crimes was a plan to reform the broken education system. Sadly, half the people working in service can't give you the change for a 70b purchase out of a 100b note without the POS device telling them what it is (this is not a Thailand only issue). 

[Snig27]

4 minutes ago, Jack Cook said:

Great just get rid of it. I stopped going there a year ago. Amazing the difference in how better you feel and how much real time you get to do real things in the real world when you delete it. Online merchants will just go to other platforms 

It's vastly more than just online merchants, it's a massive part of the tourist industry for a start. It's fine for you to not like it but to penalise probably millions of people who do rely on it because of your prejudices is a non-starter. 

[Spock]

I use Facebook regularly and use Facebook messenger to keep in touch with friends overseas. I have lots of criticisms of Facebook, largely confined to the lack of censorship or Reel's videos relating to animal cruelty - report an act of cruelty and FB inevitably says it falls within their guidelines and will not remove it. However, if there are scams occurring via Facebook, I am totally oblivious to them or how people get scammed via Facebook pages. Thailand would be placing itself in the same camp as China in banning Facebook and would be one of the very few countries in the world to ban it. Thais love Facebook and banning its use would be enough to bring down a government if done close enough to an election. 

[BestB]

In theory he is 100% correct . Most sponsored ads are a scam and Facebook does nothing about it . You report pics, advert and seller as fraud and Facebook does nothing.

Full shutdown is silly but a huge fine would be appropriate and a court order to pay for each scam.

 

this might make Facebook take it a little more seriously 

[John Drake]

24 minutes ago, billd766 said:

Has Srettha actually said that, or was it outgoing Digital Economy and Society Minister Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn.

The point of the article is that Srettha and his government will be asked to make a decision, among their very first acts, regarding this issue. Should he or the people pulling his strings, now, elect to do an FB ban, you'll have large scale unrest. And PTP's popularity will plummet down past the 10 percent I believe I saw in yesterday's news. As for what Srettha says or has said, that's already a matter of laughter. The man is reversing himself on one thing after another that he and his party promised in the campaign. Frankly, I've never seen a politician or party completely turn around like this guy and PTP. Their word, whatever it is, has become worthless.

[SiSePuede419]

Someone on Line that I didn't know contacted me last year.

Pretended to be in the fashion industry in Toronto (there is no fashion industry in Toronto, 555).

Sent me a picture of herself with her "cousin " golfing (during work hours).

I asked why aren't you working?  They had no answer.

Also sent me a picture of some Asian girl with skinny twig legs.

Then she sent me a video of her cooking a HUGE steak saying that was her dinner that day.

Then the next day she sent me a video of her cooking a HUGE steak saying that was her dinner that day.

I told her if you ate steaks that size your legs wouldn't look like chopsticks.

Obviously, two different scammers were working on me, 555.

Didn't get to the part where she offers to get me into crypto like her rich golfing uncle because I smelled a ???? and told her to <deleted> off.

 

Like why would someone I don't know contact me on Line?

 

But I had the day off because I did a bunch of Penis Envy shrooms the day before and was "floating", so I just played along with the scammer to gain inside knowledge of their "angles", 555.

 

[Sigmund]

It's more the bitcoins that encourage criminals to ask for ransoms all over the world. So shut down any bitcoin miners ?

[hotchilli]

If you don't want to be scammed via FB... opt out
It should be a personal choice.

[maraudingscot]

Not that difficult to do 10 digit mobile number. Just start with xxxxxxxxx1 and then xxxxxxxx2 etc etc a simple macro programme can run through the sequence quickly and add those numbers that return a hit as a friend!

[billd766]

12 minutes ago, John Drake said:

The point of the article is that Srettha and his government will be asked to make a decision, among their very first acts, regarding this issue. Should he or the people pulling his strings, now, elect to do an FB ban, you'll have large scale unrest. And PTP's popularity will plummet down past the 10 percent I believe I saw in yesterday's news. As for what Srettha says or has said, that's already a matter of laughter. The man is reversing himself on one thing after another that he and his party promised in the campaign. Frankly, I've never seen a politician or party completely turn around like this guy and PTP. Their word, whatever it is, has become worthless.

Poor deflection and no answer to my question.

 

Which was this. A simple yes or no answer please.

 

Has Srettha actually said that, or was it outgoing Digital Economy and Society Minister Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn?

[malibukid]

learning from the Chinese

[zyphodb]

The main problem is, and I've not seen it mentioned yet is that by saying that it's FB sponsored, it's giving the advert a false aura of authenticity to a easily taken in by that sort of thing, general public. I do think that FB is partly responsible for the success of these scams and should be held to account financially for a percentage of it until it cleans itself up...

[bizboi]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Press conference given by outgoing Digital Economy and Society Minister Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn last week in which he threatened that Facebook faces closure in Thailand with both civil and criminal proceedings to be filed by his ministry and the Royal Thai Police. The minister claimed that 70% of all online fraud in Thailand was linked to sponsored pages advertised by Facebook for which it generated large streams of income but had failed to respond adequately to requests from authorities to regulate the threat posed to online users.

In reality, the shuttering of Facebook in Thailand is not a viable option as it would have a catastrophic impact on the country’s online economy and its reputation abroad, immediately damaging confidence. At the same time, the issue is a real one with billions of baht being lost annually by ordinary Thai citizens to online scams which are traumatising families as well as causing huge financial loss and suffering on a grand scale.

Facebook is facing legal action from the Digital Economy and Society Ministry and the Royal Thai Police over its sponsored pages service in Thailand which have been linked to over 70% of online fraud cases according to outgoing minister Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn. The legal moves against Facebook, including civil and criminal proceedings, according to senior officials, could see the site shut down in Thailand if it fails to address rising security concerns.

 

A new government is expected to be sworn in sometime in mid- September. One of the first challenges facing the newly installed communications minister is a crisis over the future of Facebook in Thailand.

 

by Carla Boonkong & Pranee O' Connor

 

Full story: https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2023/08/28/facebook-threatened-with-closure-linked-to-70-per-cent-online-fraud/

 

-- Thai Examiner 2023-08-29

 

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Why? because China says so…

[bizboi]

8 minutes ago, zyphodb said:

The main problem is, and I've not seen it mentioned yet is that by saying that it's FB sponsored, it's giving the advert a false aura of authenticity to a easily taken in by that sort of thing, general public. I do think that FB is partly responsible for the success of these scams and should be held to account financially for a percentage of it until it cleans itself up...

And of course Tic Toc that replaces it is squeaky clean!!!

[Purdey]

Shutting down Facebook for the actions of a few is essentially punishing the majority because of actions of a minority. 

While I don't particularly like Facebook I would defend people's right to use it if that's what they want. And if they get swindled it's usually caused by their own greed. 

[Sticky Rice Balls]

Meanwhile Russia uses it to sway elections!    Yay Facebook...............................S/

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

5 hours ago, jvs said:

Minister Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn should have come with a solution while he was in power.

 

Kind of like leaving a big pile of dog poo on the living room floor for your landlord to find after you've moved out.... ????

 

[StayinThailand2much]

Yes, Thailand will 'close down' Facebook! LOL. Best they could do is block it in Thailand, but people will find ways around it, as they do in China...

[StayinThailand2much]

15 minutes ago, Sticky Rice Balls said:

Meanwhile Russia uses it to sway elections!    Yay Facebook...............................S/

No need for that in Thailand. Elections are swayed by Thais any which way the top 50 or so families want. 

[mran66]

Facebook related scams pale in comparison to administration related ones...how about that?? 

[StayinThailand2much]

43 minutes ago, bizboi said:

And of course Tic Toc that replaces it is squeaky clean!!!

It's managed by a friendly (overlord) nation...

[RichardColeman]

5 hours ago, John Drake said:

So Srettha's first act will be to ban Facebook? Ought to make him even more popular.

Control the media or ban it, control the narrative.

[StayinThailand2much]

2 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

Control the media or ban it, control the narrative.

What the military government didn't do, the "democratic" one will...

[wensiensheng]

Perhaps the outgoing minister should have done something whilst he was the incumbent minister, rather than make stupid comments while outgoing.

[DaveRC]

Good news.