Victims of financial crimes may be fully liable for damages if losses result from their own negligence under the new emergency decree, according to the Bank of Thailand.
According to Roong Mallikamas, the central bank's deputy governor for financial institution stability, the regulator is scheduled to unveil detailed guidelines and conditions regarding shared responsibility for financial fraud next month.
The move follows the publication of the "Emergency Decree on Measures to Prevent and Suppress Technology Crimes (No.2)" in the Royal Gazette on April 12.
The new announcement will address issues such as identity theft prevention, the management of mule accounts, and the establishment of rapid incident reporting systems, she said.
Stakeholders across the digital financial transaction ecosystem -- including telecom operators, social media platforms, financial institutions, e-money service providers, digital asset operators, and users -- are all included under the new framework.
"All involved parties, including users, must share responsibility for financial fraud cases, based on their degree of negligence," Mrs Roong said. "The court will determine the fault and the proportion of liability for each party."
Under the amended decree, all related organisations are required to cooperate with regulators in efforts to prevent financial fraud. Financial service providers supervised by the central bank include financial institutions and electronic money (e-money) entities.
She said the central bank has worked to enhance the security systems of financial service providers, resulting in a noticeable decline in fraudulent activities and losses. Key initiatives include raising security standards for mobile banking applications and implementing measures to curb the use of mule accounts.
"For instance, there were no mobile banking fraud cases reported for the first three months of this year, largely due to strengthened app security that prevents hackers from remotely controlling devices to transfer funds," said Mrs Roong.
The central bank supports the principles behind the new decree, collaborating with various agencies to refine its provisions and strengthen measures against technology-related crimes, she said.
A major requirement of the decree mandates that service providers -- including financial institutions, payment providers, telecom operators, social media platforms, and digital asset businesses -- enhance customer protection protocols. These providers will be held jointly liable for customer losses if they fail to meet regulatory standards.
Although the decree allows for service providers to bear partial responsibility for customer losses, Mrs Roong urged the public to remain vigilant when using financial services.
Users are advised to follow security best practices, avoid clicking suspicious links, and carefully verify transaction details to protect themselves from technology-related crimes.