Travel Fake TDAC Website Emerges as New System Debuts in Thailand

[snoop1130]

Photo: Bangkok Post

 

On the very day Thailand launched its new Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) system for foreign visitors, a fake website has surfaced, aiming to deceive travellers. This fraudulent site poses as an official third-party service, charging users a US$10 processing fee, whereas the legitimate TDAC service is free.

 

The TDAC system, which officially commenced on May 1st, replaces the traditional paper TM6 arrival cards. This digital transition is mandatory for all foreign nationals entering Thailand, whether by air, sea, or land. Travellers complete their details via the official TDAC website and receive an email confirmation to present upon arrival.

 

Amidst the transition, the Immigration Bureau addressed confusion regarding application deadlines, clarifying that forms can be submitted up to three days prior to arrival, but not earlier. Contrary to some reports, applications do not require submission at least three days in advance.

 

 

 

Assuring a seamless implementation, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports announced that the system is prepared with backup measures. In case of complications, travellers can temporarily revert to paper immigration forms. Additionally, computer terminals are ready at Suvarnabhumi Airport for those who need to fill out the TDAC upon arrival.

 

While the real TDAC aims to streamline the arrival process, travellers are urged to verify the official website to avoid scams like the emerging fake site. Authorities remain vigilant in safeguarding visitors against such fraudulent activities as the system continues to roll out.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from Bangkok Post 2025-05-01

 

 

[johng]

OMG,  LOL   55555   just couldn't make it up if you tried.

[couchpotato]

Even a Pattaya Agency (Mots services) are advertising to provide a TDAC for 1000 baht.😬

[ikke1959]

It was to be expected... If there are possibilities to scam people they will do it

[Upnotover]

The site shown is not a "fake".  It even states it is a third party service, albeit an unnecessary one.  If you don't want to pay just do it yourself.  Every country I go to has these sites pop up when searching for e-visa sites, it's not hard to work out.

[josephbloggs]

35 minutes ago, Upnotover said:

The site shown is not a "fake".  It even states it is a third party service, albeit an unnecessary one.  If you don't want to pay just do it yourself.  Every country I go to has these sites pop up when searching for e-visa sites, it's not hard to work out.

And if you go to the FAQ section of the site it even gives you the link to the real immigration TDAC site and says it is free. Weird.

 

 

[Upnotover]

1 minute ago, josephbloggs said:

And if you go to the FAQ section of the site it even gives you the link to the real immigration TDAC site and says it is free. Weird.

 

 

As I said.  Not fake.  Just opportunistic. (I doubt they will get rich)

[josephbloggs]

Just now, Upnotover said:

As I said.  Not fake.  Just opportunistic. (I doubt they will get rich)

Yes, I was agreeing with you in a roundabout way.

When I went to India a few years ago I (stupidly) got tricked in to using a site that looked exactly like the real government site. And looking online tons of other people also did. However I still got my visa, I just paid a little too much for it.

[ThaiVisaCentre]

 

30 minutes ago, josephbloggs said:

Yes, I was agreeing with you in a roundabout way.

When I went to India a few years ago I (stupidly) got tricked in to using a site that looked exactly like the real government site. And looking online tons of other people also did. However I still got my visa, I just paid a little too much for it.

The way that site is charging you is not legal in Thailand, which is likely why they were flagged.

They are required to clearly state that they are not a government provider and must obtain your explicit consent to their terms, and not straight to payment. They also fail to display any company information, which is a major red flag.

Right now, their site is misleading and lacks the necessary transparency.
 

Charging for submission services is legal in Thailand if done properly.

In fact, this is clearly acknowledged on the official TDAC website.

 

We operate the informational website https://tdac.in.th ( not the one that is mentioned in the announcement ).

Currently, we do not provide any services, and clearly mention the TDAC is FREE.

However, if we choose to offer services in the future, they will be fully transparent, clearly disclosed, and fully compliant with Thai law.

[dinsdale]

Well the Chinese need to make more money with the tariffs I guess.

[smedly]

Disclosing personal details to any Thai website official or not is problematic 

[Nickcage49]

This is classic. Let me remind the media outlet of news basics. Who, what, when, where, why, how.

 

Uh, what's the real url of the site?

 

What a waste of my time.

[factual monk]

seems 2025 is not a good year for Thailand... 

[jacko45k]

Hardly surprising.. likely a better built site too. 

How about the  e-visa site, has that been cloned much yet?

We can copy Indonesia and have advance customs clearance online, which is also cloned and wants about $60 off you!

[CMBob]

12 hours ago, ThaiVisaCentre said:

 

They are required to clearly state that they are not a government provider and must obtain your explicit consent to their terms, and not straight to payment. They also fail to display any company information, which is a major red flag.

Right now, their site is misleading and lacks the necessary transparency.
 

 

In the interests of transparency, your website could be clearer.  The only reference to the "official" TDAC website is at the very top and may be missed by some visitors to your website (took me three attempts to find any language that somewhat said your TDAC isn't official).

 

Out of curiosity, when a person comes to your website and fills in the personal information, what do you do with it?  Do you then duplicate that personal information on the official TDAC website? And does the personal information provided languish on your server?  I think it's great for other non-official websites to assist visitors but, given some people dislike providing personal information to any government website, they are a bit wary of unnecessarily providing the same personal information to a commercial website. 

[impulse]

13 hours ago, ThaiVisaCentre said:

The way that site is charging you is not legal in Thailand, which is likely why they were flagged.

They are required to clearly state that they are not a government provider and must obtain your explicit consent to their terms, and not straight to payment. They also fail to display any company information, which is a major red flag.

 

Does this not meet that disclosure requirement?  Clearly states that they are a 3rd party.

 

My objection isn't to 3rd party sites.  It's to the 3rd party sites that would have you believe that they are the only one that's authorized.  Which this one doesn't seem to do..

 

[riverhigh]

This site falsely  poses as a goverment approved website. This website was designed for the sole purpose of fraudulently extracting funds from unsuspecting travellers. This website is illegal and the website developers should be jailed. End of story.

[impulse]

13 hours ago, Upnotover said:

As I said.  Not fake.  Just opportunistic. (I doubt they will get rich)

 

I don't know...  What's 40 million arrivals time $10?  Even if only 1% of the tourists goes that way, it's $4 million dollars a year. 

 

And if they really wanted to be nefarious, they could implement a DDOS attack on the official website for a few hours a day to push traffic to their site.

 

 

[impulse]

27 minutes ago, riverhigh said:

This site falsely  poses as a goverment approved website. This website was designed for the sole purpose of fraudulently extracting funds from unsuspecting travellers. This website is illegal and the website developers should be jailed. End of story.

 

They clearly disclose that they're a 3rd party, and the official TDAC website says that travel agents are allowed to offer the service and charge for it.  It appears to me that their only "crime" may be in the way they handle the payments.  I won't be clicking on their link to find out for sure.  But if so, that's an easy fix.

 

I'd bet dollars to donut holes there will be a bunch of sites just like it.  Just as there are a ton of sites from agencies helping with visa issues.  All perfectly legal.

 

To be clear, I have absolutely nothing to do with any of the sites.  I'm just sorry I didn't think of it.  Cha Ching!

 

[ChaiyaTH]

This is an absolute joke, the service fee website is actually better than the real one. Secondly I am almost sure that websites like trip.com will also offer to file this for you for an additional fee, this is done with so many things and visa applications too for like Vietnam (there the gov one not works half the time on purpose or takes longer).

You would almost start to think if there was such a plan in the first place, it clearly can make people a lot of money... Even if that's allowing a deal with like trip.com processing a few million a year, getting just a dollar each.. well for those that count slow: that makes you a millionaire lol.

 

Suddenly the entire illogical move to start this becomes logical, for those few that benefit from it hardcore. Imagine you get a dollar per chinese from big zero dollar tour companies etc.

[stevenl]

14 minutes ago, riverhigh said:

This site falsely  poses as a goverment approved website. This website was designed for the sole purpose of fraudulently extracting funds from unsuspecting travellers. This website is illegal and the website developers should be jailed. End of story.

Illegal, where?

[ChaiyaTH]

So now they blocked the website from certain Thai internet providers already, which makes it even more stupid, as you would apply from this from abroad... My gosh they really live in a bubble.

[kiwikeith]

18 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Photo: Bangkok Post

 

On the very day Thailand launched its new Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) system for foreign visitors, a fake website has surfaced, aiming to deceive travellers. This fraudulent site poses as an official third-party service, charging users a US$10 processing fee, whereas the legitimate TDAC service is free.

 

The TDAC system, which officially commenced on May 1st, replaces the traditional paper TM6 arrival cards. This digital transition is mandatory for all foreign nationals entering Thailand, whether by air, sea, or land. Travellers complete their details via the official TDAC website and receive an email confirmation to present upon arrival.

 

Amidst the transition, the Immigration Bureau addressed confusion regarding application deadlines, clarifying that forms can be submitted up to three days prior to arrival, but not earlier. Contrary to some reports, applications do not require submission at least three days in advance.

 

 

 

Assuring a seamless implementation, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports announced that the system is prepared with backup measures. In case of complications, travellers can temporarily revert to paper immigration forms. Additionally, computer terminals are ready at Suvarnabhumi Airport for those who need to fill out the TDAC upon arrival.

 

While the real TDAC aims to streamline the arrival process, travellers are urged to verify the official website to avoid scams like the emerging fake site. Authorities remain vigilant in safeguarding visitors against such fraudulent activities as the system continues to roll out.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from Bangkok Post 2025-05-01

 

 

 

18 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Photo: Bangkok Post

 

On the very day Thailand launched its new Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) system for foreign visitors, a fake website has surfaced, aiming to deceive travellers. This fraudulent site poses as an official third-party service, charging users a US$10 processing fee, whereas the legitimate TDAC service is free.

 

The TDAC system, which officially commenced on May 1st, replaces the traditional paper TM6 arrival cards. This digital transition is mandatory for all foreign nationals entering Thailand, whether by air, sea, or land. Travellers complete their details via the official TDAC website and receive an email confirmation to present upon arrival.

 

Amidst the transition, the Immigration Bureau addressed confusion regarding application deadlines, clarifying that forms can be submitted up to three days prior to arrival, but not earlier. Contrary to some reports, applications do not require submission at least three days in advance.

 

 

 

Assuring a seamless implementation, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports announced that the system is prepared with backup measures. In case of complications, travellers can temporarily revert to paper immigration forms. Additionally, computer terminals are ready at Suvarnabhumi Airport for those who need to fill out the TDAC upon arrival.

 

While the real TDAC aims to streamline the arrival process, travellers are urged to verify the official website to avoid scams like the emerging fake site. Authorities remain vigilant in safeguarding visitors against such fraudulent activities as the system continues to roll out.

Just when you thought your information was safe, now there will be scammers all over the system, 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from Bangkok Post 2025-05-01

 

 

 

[connda]

 

When all else failing remember:


Good Morning Vietnam!!!

[factual monk]

Holly - Molly... 😆 🤣 😂 

[ThaiVisaCentre]

1 hour ago, impulse said:

 

Does this not meet that disclosure requirement?  Clearly states that they are a 3rd party.

 

My objection isn't to 3rd party sites.  It's to the 3rd party sites that would have you believe that they are the only one that's authorized.  Which this one doesn't seem to do..

 

Would need to be more of a opt-in.

Think checkbox where you acknowledge the fact that they are not a government service.

 

The checkbox acts as a recorded action proving that they disclosed the nature of the service. Without this, a user could later claim they were misled.

[impulse]

1 minute ago, ThaiVisaCentre said:

Would need to be more of a opt-in.

Think checkbox where you acknowledge the fact that they are not a government service.

 

The checkbox acts as a recorded action proving that they disclosed the nature of the service. Without this, a user could later claim they were misled.

 

Good info.  Thanks.

[Guderian]

It probably works better than the official Thai version! lol

[ThaiVisaCentre]

1 hour ago, ChaiyaTH said:

So now they blocked the website from certain Thai internet providers already, which makes it even more stupid, as you would apply from this from abroad... My gosh they really live in a bubble.

It looks more like the actual website blocked the Thailand region rather than the Thailand ISP's blocked their website (if you look at the bottom of the error page it says CloudFlare).

This clearly indicates they are aware but have chosen not to update their site.
 

Another example is https://tdac.online. They seem to be following the law, but whether the service is really worth over 1,200 THB is debatable, and is low compared to https://ivisa.com attempting to charge 2,300 THB.  Still, for those short on time, it might be convenient since it allows you to apply in advance and *may* offer a responsive point of contact.

Even some of our own clients have asked for this kind of service, despite us explaining to them how easy it is to apply on their own.

 

They could have simply designed their website to be legally compliant and been in a strong position, rather than choosing to make it deliberately misleading and risk being seen as a scam.

[hotchilli]

Will there be a back-flip?