Advanced Info Service has warned customers of phishing scams using one-time passwords sent through text messages and stressed that AIS will never ask customers for OTPs.
"The massive growth of online transactions, especially during the pandemic, has led to some criminal elements attempting to deceive customers in a variety of ways to obtain OTPs," said Saichon Submakudom, head of public relations at AIS, the top mobile operator by number of subscribers.
"These may come in the form of fake posts about measures of assistance from operators, or falsely claiming to be officials of service providers such as mobile phone operators, banks or other companies," she said.
The scam can give criminals access to online accounts to make transactions and has caused damage to property, as recently reported in the media.
AIS said customers should keep OTPs confidential in the same way as an ATM PIN code.
"Do not reveal your OTP to any other person under any circumstances," Ms Saichon said. "We would like to stress that AIS, as a mobile phone operator, will never contact service users to request an OTP, because the OTP should be known and used only by customers to secure their own online transactions."
The company has also added features to clearly warn customers about criminal activity in the message providing the OTP, so that they will be aware and will prioritise securing their personal data such as the OTP.
Customers and the general public may enquire about the situation or cross-check the information through AIS official channels such as AIS Call Center 1175 and AIS Facebook.