Authorities began checking the names of mobile banking account holders and mobile subscribers on Monday to see if they match, part of a joint effort led by the Digital Economy and Society (DES) Ministry.
The ministry reassured mobile banking subscribers their accounts can still be used normally during the examination process.
DES Minister Prasert Jantararuangthong and authorities working to control mule accounts told users they can continue to conduct online banking transactions during the data examination, which is expected to take 120 days, ending in October.
Mule accounts are often used by fraudsters.
Q: What will happen after 120 days?
Some mobile banking subscribers wondered what happens after the deadline of 120 days, as authorities did not provide a clear outline of the next steps.
Mr Prasert said later the joint panel would deliberate on measures after October, including the possibility of extending the period to conduct the data review.
The ministry expects many suspected mule accounts will be eliminated during the 120 days, he said.
"Our action is faster than noise. We screen more than 800,000 mobile banking accounts per day, but what fraudsters do is faster than light," said Pol Maj Gen Ekarak Limsangkat, deputy secretary-general of the Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo).
"We have to continue to close all vulnerabilities."
On May 28, authorities taking part in the joint project held a press conference clarifying the effort, following confusion about how it may affect people's mobile banking accounts.
The joint parties in the data examination comprise the DES Ministry, Thai Bankers' Association, the office of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), and Amlo.
"The 120 days is just a timeline for the data examination process by banks, the NBTC, mobile operators and Amlo," said Mr Prasert.
The DES Ministry said there are about 106 million mobile banking accounts, of which about 30 million are not registered to the same name as their mobile SIM subscription.
"We are eager to see if there will be a decrease in these 30 million mobile banking accounts during the 120-day period," he said.
"We are implementing these measures to protect the public and prevent the use of mule accounts by fraudsters."
Without this joint effort, obtaining practical results would be difficult following a series of related measures pursued by months from the group of authorities, said Mr Prasert.
Q: What are the channels to check information?
People can check if the names of their mobile banking accounts match their SIM card registration by pressing *179*, followed by the 13 digits of their national ID, followed by #, then press call.
For people who hold mobile banking accounts registered to names that do not match phone subscriptions, the ministry urges them to show evidence that verifies their identities at the service centres of their mobile operators.
They could also go to bank branches to show evidence and ID cards to verify their identities, said the authorities.
The authorities insisted the measures would not add a burden to mobile banking users, particularly in terms of fees for new mobile packages that are higher than those currently in use.
Q: Who is exempt from the measures?
The measures exempt certain people who hold mobile banking accounts registered to names that differ from their SIM card registration.
These exceptions comprise: family members; guardians as designated by a court order; juristic persons able to demonstrate their needs to banks; and others deemed by a bank to have reasonable grounds for use.
These four categories are collectively referred to as a whitelist, said Mr Prasert.
These four groups will be notified by banks to verify their identities through their mobile banking system for each account, according to the authorities.
The banks will not send an SMS to alert them of the matter, noted the ministry.
The ministry acknowledged there are some cases where one SIM card subscribes to many mobile banking accounts, in some cases up to 400 mobile banking accounts.
Q: Are there discretion guidelines for banks to follow as part of the probe?
A representative of the Thai Bankers' Association who requested anonymity said the Bank of Thailand should determine a framework to supervise discretion for all banks to use when considering the groups granted exceptions.
"The discretion of each bank may be different, so the central bank should define some guidelines for the move to ensure everyone follows the same path," said the representative.
