Five major call-centre gangs disabled in crackdown on online crime
The Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (DES) has successfully dismantled five major call-centre gangs that had a combined turnover of 7 billion baht.
Amid a sharp increase in call-centre scams, government agencies are making efforts to combat and prevent cheating of the public, Minister of Digital Economy and Society Prasert Jantararuangtong said.
He said Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin had issued directives to address online crimes.
Srettha also has instructed the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) to expedite the registration of individuals holding more than 5 SIM cards. Registration must be completed within 30 days, and service providers must be checked in the case of abnormal calls, whether from mobile phones or internet usage. Any identified irregularities are to be reported to the AOC 1441 Centre.
As of September 30, 2023, there were 7,664 individuals who possessed mobile phone numbers or SIM cards ranging from 101 onwards. Additionally, 286,148 individuals own mobile phone numbers or SIM cards within the range of 6 to 100.
From November 1 to November 23, 2023, the AOC 1441 Centre received a total of 62,306 calls from the public. They were able to freeze 5,329 bank accounts and make 389 arrests.
Notably, they have successfully dismantled 5 major call-centre gangs with a collective turnover of up to 7 billion baht, the minister said.
Prasert said that in fiscal year 2023 (October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023) a total of 19,953 websites were shut down, averaging approximately 54.67 websites per day. In fiscal year 2024, 16,359 websites have been closed, averaging around 308.66 websites per day. This represents an increase of six times compared to the previous fiscal year.
A total of 2,059 online gambling websites were shut down in fiscal year 2023, averaging over 5.64 websites per day. In fiscal year 2024 (which began on October 1, 2023), 3,120 websites have already been closed, averaging around 66.38 websites per day. This marks an increase of 12 times compared to the previous fiscal year.
