The government on Friday launched a “Digital Vaccine” campaign to help Thai people build up immunity to keep them safe from online scammers and thieves.
The campaign is a response to increasingly sophisticated frauds, especially fake platforms on social media channels that post fake news and distorted information related to the 10,000-baht digital wallet scheme, according to Prasert Jantararuangthong, the minister of Digital Economy and Society (DES).
The campaign will integrate data from participating agencies to create public relations media that will be disseminated through various channels .
The goal is to create public awareness, disseminate information about online threats, prevention and response methods. It will also increase media literacy skills and reduce risks of people falling victim to online threats.
Online fraud these days takes many forms. One of the most prevalent involves scammers claiming to be government agencies or reliable businesses who trick people into clicking on links or downloading and installing applications to steal money, causing loss of property and/or personal information.
Also widespread is the problem of “mule” accounts opened to allow fraudsters to receive money from victims, in order to conceal their identities or avoid investigation.
Huge public interest in the government’s digital wallet handout programme, for which 25 million people have already registered, has created another opportunity for crooks. While authorities have been stressing that the government-developed Thang Rath app is the only legitimate channel for registering, people are still being tricked to sign up elsewhere.
“We have seen the creation of various fake platforms on social media channels to create fake news and distorted information related to the Digital Wallet project … in order to deceive people, causing them to lose their assets and personal information,” Mr Prasert said.
The Digital Vaccine campaign, he said, aims to increase communication efficiency, information reliability, and respond to government policies in line with the country’s digital security policy.
The 11 participating agencies consist of DES Ministry, Royal Thai Police, Department of Special Investigation, Public Relations Department, Bank of Thailand, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission, Anti-Money Laundering Office, Securities and Exchange Commission, National Cyber Security Agency, Thai Bankers Association, and Telecommunications Association of Thailand.