The government is ramping up efforts to crack down on criminal activities by targeting individuals using mule accounts and nominees for online transactions.
Deputy government spokesman Karom Phonphonklang said on Saturday the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (DES) is strengthening security measures for mobile banking to prevent the use of mule accounts, which are frequently linked to illegal activities.
Under a new regulation, the name registered with a mobile banking account must match the name associated with the mobile SIM card. Starting from Saturday, banks are required to notify users if a mismatch is detected.
Users will receive notifications through their bank's mobile application this month, prompting them to verify their identity at their mobile service provider by April 30.
Over the past year, a "Cleaning Mobile Banking" policy has been implemented to ensure mobile banking user data aligns with SIM card ownership records.
In November, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), the Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo), the Bank of Thailand (BoT), telecommunications providers, and banks completed the verification of more than 120 million phone numbers. Of these, 75.8 million numbers (63.02%) were confirmed as legitimate.
However, 30.9 million numbers (25.68%), primarily opened by foreigners before 2023, were found to have mismatched mobile banking and SIM card registration details.
Mr Karom said that affected users must update their information by either changing the SIM card ownership details or updating their registered phone number with their bank by April 30. Failure to comply may result in their mobile banking services being suspended.
Additionally, 13.5 million numbers (11.29%) had no registered SIM card ownership information.
Users of these numbers must contact their mobile service provider to register the SIM card under their name and ensure it matches the details linked to their mobile banking account. If they fail to do so by April 30, their mobile banking service may be temporarily suspended.