Photo courtesy of Bangkok Post

 

A recent study by Chulalongkorn University reveals that scammers pose a threat to 73% of Thais, with 47% already victims of financial fraud. During the "Bank of Thailand Symposium 2025," Nualnoi Treerat reported that despite high victim numbers, most remain silent. The study also shows that call center scams and investment schemes are primary methods.

 

Scammers target primarily older generations, with Baby Boomers and Gen X being deceived via call centers and investments. Baby Boomers earn between 10,000-20,000 baht monthly, while Gen X earns 20,000-30,000 baht. Younger generations, such as Gen Y and Gen Z, face job and online shopping scams, often spread through social media. Their earnings range from under 10,000 to 30,000 baht.

 

The response from victims varies; 42% contact scammers directly, while 28% remain silent. A mere 10% file police reports, highlighting issues like cumbersome processes and embarrassment. Prof Nualnoi emphasized the rise of digital banking scams, which significantly impact economies, with losses in Thailand contributing 0.14% to GDP.

 

Thailand reports 5,769 fraudulent cases per million people, lower than Singapore (8,527) and Hong Kong (5,960). However, Thailand's average loss per case is $1,847, much less compared to Hong Kong's $26,372. Prof Nualnoi stresses that enhancing cybersecurity and literacy is vital to combating scams.

 

Key Takeaways

• Scammers target a significant portion of the Thai population.
• Older generations face investment scams, while younger groups encounter job fraud.
• Improving cybersecurity and literacy is crucial for protection.

 

Related Stories:

Joint Effort Nabs Pattaya-Based $15M Scam Group

Korean Fraud Ring Caught in Pattaya for Massive Scam

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from Bangkok Post 2025-09-26

 

 

Sadly, the locals do not even look properly  when crossing a road or when driving. So what to expect when flagrant fraudulent e-mails or scams are sent over their phones ? 

Don’t answer calls not in contacts, don’t reply to emails you don’t know/don't click links etc etc. basic stuff. But yes, the Thais seem easy to sell to and thus scam. 

I am not surprised, considering the behavioural traits of many Thais these day.

 

I know it is just one case, but even a highly educated Thai health professional friend got burnt by the iCON scam.

Stick to no cellphone banking and cash.

 

7 minutes ago, FlorC said:

Stick to no cellphone banking and cash.

 

Tops have now introduced a check-out counter where cash is NOT acceptable!

Hardly surprising given the evidence of the trade in personal information here in Thailand.

 

Personal information provided to businesses frequently results in cold calls and unsolicited emails in the days and weeks afterwards.

 

I use the phone number of a second SIM solely for the purpose of when asked by businesses for my contact phone number.

 

I never answer that number, but far too often to be random the number receives multiple calls from multiple numbers in the days and weeks afterwards I have given that number to a local business.

 

This has occurred after giving that number to car dealerships, insurance companies, hospitals, a local airline and supermarket chain.

 

 

13 minutes ago, FlorC said:

Stick to no cellphone banking and cash.

 

Agree but not according to Thai banks.

1 hour ago, JimHuaHin said:

I am not surprised, considering the behavioural traits of many Thais these day.

 

I know it is just one case, but even a highly educated Thai health professional friend got burnt by the iCON scam.

Another example: Our neighbor, a Thai lady retired famous lawyer asked my Thai son to go with her to a presentation about investing in a Thai stock exchange 'group'. 

 

My Son declined. Also the retired lady lawyer had 2 daughters also well known lawyers.

 

My son spoke to one of them who said' don't let mum talk you into joining her new toy, the 'stock exchange group', because their illegal activity is all based on behind the scenes / after hours stock trading'. 

 

A year later retired lawyer revealed she had been conned for around 20 million Baht. 

9 minutes ago, mikebell said:

Tops have now introduced a check-out counter where cash is NOT acceptable!

Beside cash checkouts ?

 

No Tops in my hood. 

4 hours ago, daveAustin said:

Don’t answer calls not in contacts, don’t reply to emails you don’t know/don't click links etc etc. basic stuff. But yes, the Thais seem easy to sell to and thus scam. 

Thais appear to be collectors of thinfs, especially if it is free. Grocery card, beauty shops, pharmacies etc all offer a card which is mostly useless. My wife & I have even seen people wander in at the end of a funeral just to get a free  gift. Scamming over the phone or tikky-tokky is a given.🙃🙃

4 hours ago, FlorC said:

Stick to no cellphone banking and cash.

 

 

What is cash?

 

In my distant memory I seem to remember it is the paper/plastic/cotton stuff people used to carry in wallets?

 

People used the paper stuff while going to a town shopping area in their horse and carts. 😃

 

 

It's relatively easy to avoid most digital online scams by following common sense stuff like not opening random emails, hovering the mouse over an email to check the sender's address, no clicking random links out of curiosity, not believing stuff that seems to be too good to be true, not using cards at dodgy places, paying with cash wherever you can etc. Trouble is, so many people are just dumb, hubristic, lazy, or greedy... any of which can make you vulnerable to scamming.

As for payment methods, going to a cashless society is incredibly short-sighted and dumb. You need multiple ways to pay for things, and some ways are more appropriate for some goods than others.

It's also about freedom... as freedom is about choice, the more choice you have the freer you are, and anything/anyone that takes choice away from you is making you less free. Maybe I don't want to leave an electronic trail of every single tiny thing I buy, like how much milk, chocolate, beer, vegetables, meat, or cigarettes etc. you buy as you just can't trust companies, data brokers, or governments with such vast amounts of personal information. They will not be able to resist themselves from making a profile of you on all the data they can scrape from anywhere, and that could affect the price of health insurance, benefits eligibility, social contribution score, or a general social desirability rating, anything scandalous from your past, to who knows what etc.

Also, what are you going to do if the electricity or internet goes down... how will you access any of your money? Maybe it's a glitch with a satellite, a bank cyber attack, a huge solar storm like the Carrington Event, EMP interference, a terroist attack... what will you do if your smart phone doesn't work? Your cards will also be useless. We need cash as a backup and I always carry cash around with me and use it as much as I can, as it gives a layer of protection from many things... plus gives me a level of privacy that is increasingly hard to come by.

Those advocating for a cashless society  are doing the bidding of governments, large corporate entities, scammers, and finacial institutions by handing over enormous levels of power to these indifferent monsters that merely want control and compliance. They will control your life and be able to cut you out of society with one decision made by AI... stop staring into your smart phone and wake up. They want total control and are selling it to you under the disguise of "convenience" and "security"... which is lies.

Call Center !!!!! 

9 hours ago, daveAustin said:

Don’t answer calls not in contacts, don’t reply to emails you don’t know/don't click links etc etc. basic stuff. But yes, the Thais seem easy to sell to and thus scam. 

I get a call to my thai number when i stayed in my country.The lady said i missed 3 payments on my motorcycle even i dont owe a motorcycle.I blocked the numbers who tried to contact me because i knew it was a fraud.

Was watching a YouTube video a few weeks ago by Scammer Payback where they hack into the pc's of the scammers in India and are able to access the files of the scammers and get details of names, phone numbers and the amount scammed.  On the list in this particular video were the names of 5 people with Thai telephone numbers and between the 5 of them they had been scammed out of a total of THB 40,000,000 in the space of 1 week.

1 hour ago, Sir Dude said:

Trouble is, so many people are just dumb, hubristic, lazy, or greedy... any of which can make you vulnerable to scamming.

Greed is the main problem.

21 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

A recent study by Chulalongkorn University reveals that scammers pose a threat to 73% of Thais, with 47% already victims of financial fraud.

That says volumes about the sophistication of Thais, especially when it comes to the Internet.  People are conned because they are easy targets for con-jobs.  Often it's about wanting something for nothing, it's about greed.  The con artists are more sophisticated than the "marks," so the marks get conned. 

"I'm a billionaire but I forgot my wallet at the airline ticket counter.  Please wire me ฿100,000 THB and when I get to Thailand we'll get married and I'll shower you with riches! Honest!"

And yet up to 73% of Thais are ripe to fall for the cons.  If the Thai government wants to do something, don't talk about it, teach your citizens not be be easy marks.

Don’t use a smart fone ,no problem

21 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

with Baby Boomers and Gen X being deceived via call centers and investments. Baby Boomers earn between 10,000-20,000 baht monthly, while Gen X earns 20,000-30,000 baht. Younger generations, such as Gen Y and Gen Z, face job and online shopping scams, often spread through social media

 

Who started this Gen x.y,z Baby Boomers etc?

I am sure that I can't be the only one who doesn't have a clue who they are talking about!

6 hours ago, mikebell said:

Tops have now introduced a check-out counter where cash is NOT acceptable!

They should have check-outs that ONLY accept cash. Most times people who pay by phone are soooo slow!

3 hours ago, JamesPhuket10 said:

 

What is cash?

 

In my distant memory I seem to remember it is the paper/plastic/cotton stuff people used to carry in wallets?

 

People used the paper stuff while going to a town shopping area in their horse and carts. 😃

 

 

It's the same intrinsic worthless debt note as is the 1 and 0's in a digital device.

3 hours ago, norsurin said:

I get a call to my thai number when i stayed in my country.The lady said i missed 3 payments on my motorcycle even i dont owe a motorcycle.I blocked the numbers who tried to contact me because i knew it was a fraud.

I recently had a call from India, the lady was insistent that her company (in India) needed to refund about US$500 to my credit card. I had never heard of her company.

 

She shared that she had my card number and she correctly quoted the number, and correctly quoted my name as stated on the BBL credit card and she quoted the correct expiry month/year on the card.

 

Then she said 'I just need the 3 digit security card on the back of your credit card. I refused, several times. She was insistent that she needed the 3 digit number to prove I was the actual person who owned that card therefore entitled to receive the refund.

 

I stated clearly again 'I am not giving you the 3 digit security number'.

 

The line went dead, never head from her again. 

 

4 hours ago, Sir Dude said:

Trouble is, so many people are just dumb, hubristic, lazy, or greedy... any of which can make you vulnerable to scamming.

 

My favorite are the people who will scan a QR code on a random wall poster if it promises a discount on something.

 

15 minutes ago, scorecard said:

I recently had a call from India, the lady was insistent that her company (in India) needed to refund about US$500 to my credit card. I had never heard of her company.

 

She shared that she had my card number and she correctly quoted the number, and correctly quoted my name as stated on the BBL credit card and she quoted the correct expiry month/year on the card.

 

Then she said 'I just need the 3 digit security card on the back of your credit card. I refused, several times. She was insistent that she needed the 3 digit number to prove I was the actual person who owned that card therefore entitled to receive the refund.

 

I stated clearly again 'I am not giving you the 3 digit security number'.

 

The line went dead, never head from her again. 

 

 

I keep getting texts claiming that someone has charged $99 to my Amazon account for an Apple product and they want to see if it's a legitimate charge.

 

As if you can buy any Apple product for $99.

 

6 hours ago, TigerandDog said:

Was watching a YouTube video a few weeks ago by Scammer Payback where they hack into the pc's of the scammers in India and are able to access the files of the scammers and get details of names, phone numbers and the amount scammed.  On the list in this particular video were the names of 5 people with Thai telephone numbers and between the 5 of them they had been scammed out of a total of THB 40,000,000 in the space of 1 week.

I saw the same video.He hacked their CCTV inside the scammer factory.Few days after they have fleed the location.

6 hours ago, loong said:

They should have check-outs that ONLY accept cash. Most times people who pay by phone are soooo slow!

I just stayed at a hotel where the bars and restaurants would not accept cash or phone payments.

One of my neighbors was desperately putting off telling his wife that he had been scammed out of 50,000 baht!

On 9/26/2025 at 4:57 PM, snoop1130 said:

Thailand reports 5,769 fraudulent cases per million people,

hardly 47% of thais.. TAT must be teaching them how to throw out false numbers to make it look the way they want it to. 

Sadly, many older folks, both old or young really do not understand how information or access can be hacked or used.  so many spam calls or emails look so legitimate.  Or just out of curiosity they click on some hyper link and bad things happen.