Thailand Faces Scam Surge: 168 Million Calls and Texts in 2024

File photo courtesy: Security Intelligence

Amid the technological boom, Thailand is experiencing an unprecedented rise in scam attempts, with an astonishing 168 million fraudulent calls and SMS messages reported in 2024. This alarming figure marks the highest in five years, according to Gogolook Thailand, the firm behind the anti-scam app Whoscall. The surge highlights the increasingly sophisticated nature of these scams, fuelled by cutting-edge generative AI technologies.

Crafty scammers are leveraging these advancements to indulge in impersonation fraud, financial deception, and data breaches, preying on unsuspecting individuals through phone calls, SMS messages, and deceptive links.

Manwoo Joo, Head at Gogolook Thailand, stated, “Since launching our annual report in 2020, we’ve kept a keen eye on the ever-evolving scam scene in Whoscall’s core markets.”

The report’s revelations are anything but comforting. Scam attempts soared by 112% compared to last year's 79.2 million. Scam calls alone have surged to approximately 38 million from the previous year's 20.8 million, while SMS scams have more than doubled, reaching nearly 130 million from last year's 58.3 million. Despite this, Whoscall’s Smart SMS Assistant successfully mitigated a portion of these attempts.

The culprits behind these scams are reportedly focused on gambling and money loan schemes. Furthermore, they impersonate delivery and utility services, exploiting government policies such as electricity bill reductions and digital wallet initiatives to deceive people.

In response to this escalating situation, Whoscall launched its innovative Web Checker feature in 2024, offering users a safer online browsing experience and helping them steer clear of malicious scammers' traps.

Alarmingly, the report also uncovered significant personal data breaches, with 41% of Whoscall users in Thailand having sensitive information exposed on the dark and deep web. The most frequently compromised details include email addresses (97%) and phone numbers (88%), with potential leaks also encompassing birth dates, names, and passwords.

This disturbing trend signals a critical need for increased vigilance and security measures, as scammers continue to use advanced technologies to exploit vulnerabilities and deceive individuals across the country, reported The Thaiger.

-- 2025-02-25