Thais received the highest number of fraudulent messages in Asia in 2023, with over 58 million messages received, according to the caller identification application, Whoscall.
Whoscall recently published its 2023 report, which revealed that Thai citizens received a total of 79 million dishonest SMS messages and calls last year, an 18% increase from 2022's 66.7 million calls and messages.
Last year's number comprises 20.8 million calls, a 22% increase from the previous year's 17 million calls, and 58.3 million messages, an increase of 17% from 49.7 million messages in 2022.
The 58.3 million messages made Thais the most exposed to fraudulent SMSs in Asia last year. The messages usually contained dangerous fake links and malware, according to the report.
Meanwhile, Asia's overall trend is the opposite of Thailand's as the continent saw a total of 347.3 million fraudulent calls and messages in 2023, a 14% decrease from 405.3 million over the same time frame.
The number went down for the second consecutive year. The report also said Thailand had the largest average number of fraudulent SMSs received per one person in the continent, with each Thai person receiving an average of 20.3 SMSs.
Thitinan Suttinarapun, marketing director for Southeast Asia at Gogolook, the company behind Whoscall, said the report shows Thais are the most prone to risks posed by those deceptive messages and calls in Asia.
Tricksters are adjusting their techniques to make them more complicated; for example, claiming to contact them on behalf of a shipping company or state agency.
She advised Thais to only consume information from reliable sources. She also recommended the use of Whoscall as it has useful features that help users avoid fraud.