Famous news anchor Anuwat Fuengthongdaeng has filed a police report over the use of his image in several alleged online scam operations.
Anuwat and his lawyer Ronnarong Kaewpetch, chair of the social justice campaign network, yesterday filed a complaint with the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) regarding the unauthorised use of the anchor's photo and a video to lure unsuspecting investors, a violation of the Computer Crime Act.
Pol Maj Gen Chusak Khanadnit, commander of the CCIB's High-Tech Crime Division, received the complaint.
Anuwat said he was a presenter for Chaiyo.th, a legal credit company, in the past. Later on, he discovered that his picture and a video had been edited and used by a company called Chayo Capital, which turned out to be fraudulent, he said.
He said the company's online loan scheme negatively affected hundreds of victims and damaged his career and reputation, which prompted him to file the complaint. Each victim lost between 1,000 and 1 million baht, Anuwat said.
Anyone who has been harmed by the lending scheme should file a police report and submit the evidence, Mr Ronnarong said.
In other news, Pol Lt Gen Sompong Chingduang, deputy commissioner of the national police, yesterday said Thai Police Online has received several reports of unique scamming cases in the first three weeks of the new year.
Hooking people into investing in a tutoring institute, selling pawnable products on the social media of a fake Easy Money pawn shop, making money transfers by claiming its the "Pracharat Project" and investing with "CP All" are among the cases, he said.
"To detect online fraud, if messages from the government are sent via mobile phone, assume first that it is a scammer," he said, noting the government will never contact a private entity online but will notify and invite relevant agencies in writing.
To avoid online fraud, Pol Lt Gen Sompong advises not clicking any link from a stranger or one that appears too good to be true, not downloading any remote mobile control application and not recording any passwords digitally.