Crime

Thailand Plans Legal Action Against Facebook Over Scams on Its Platform

Published

1 year ago

January 9, 2024

Bchcomber

Thailand Plans Legal Action Against Facebook Over Scams on Its Platform

Thailand’s National Cyber Security Agency (NCSA) is pursuing legal action to force Meta, Facebook’s parent company, to implement greater steps to combat scams on the network.

Contents

Fraudulent Accounts on Facebook European Union Regulators Want Answers Meta, the Parent of Facebook and Instagram Failing Children’s safety on Instagram

AVM Amorn Chomchoey, secretary-general of NCSA, stated that the agency is in discussions with the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) and the Office of the Attorney-General to investigate legal options for forcing Meta to handle fraudulent ads better.

“As we’re not legal experts, we need an alliance to develop more stringent preventive measures for ad scams, particular on Facebook,” Amorn said in a statement.

“We are asking the DSI to consider cyberscams as special cases and the Attorney-General’s office to consider legal action overseas in the case of Meta.”

He highlighted a Straits Times report from last year, which stated that Malaysian authorities were planning legal action against Meta after it reportedly failed to delete objectionable content from the social networking platform despite repeated demands.

According to the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau, investment scams ranked fourth among the 14 primary categories of online fraud, with approximately 30,000 incidents and an estimated loss of 15.3 billion baht between March 1, 2022, and November 10, 2023.

Fraudulent Accounts on Facebook

Meta previously stated that it cooperates with local authorities to combat online fraud in Thailand, specifically fraud and deception.

Hazelia Margaretha, APAC public policy manager for economic policy at Meta, stated that the company is continually improving strategies to stay up with changing online behaviours and allocating resources to safeguard customers from fraudulent accounts and other inauthentic behaviour. Meta also works with Interpol and collaborates with local governments, she explained.

Ms. Margaretha stated that the company eliminates content that intentionally deceives, misrepresents, defrauds, or exploits others for money or property. This includes content that supports fraudulent activity through Meta services.

According to Paiboon Amonpinyokeat, a cyberlaw specialist, Thai authorities can utilize civil and criminal law against Meta, but enforcing a court order may be problematic due to Meta’s location in the United States.

He stated that Thailand might sue Meta and its Thai companies and utilize court judgments to stop Meta’s content distribution network in Thailand.

According to AVM Amorn, celebrities who have experienced reputational harm due to Facebook ad scams can pursue legal action against Meta, as in other countries. He also cautioned against a new investment scam on Facebook.

Scammers are creating a group on Line OpenChat and pretending to be famous stock gurus offering free financial advice. According to AVM Amorn, they will then ask the victims to invest in bogus portfolios.

European Union Regulators Want Answers

Thailand isn’t the only country concerned about Meta’s business practices; last month, European Union regulators issued another formal request for information (RFI) seeking more details on Meta’s response to child safety concerns on Instagram, including what it’s doing to address risks associated with the sharing of self-generated child sexual abuse material (SG-CSAM) on the social network.

The request is filed under the bloc’s freshly relaunched online legislation, the Digital Services Act (DSA), which began applicable to larger in-scope platforms (including Instagram) in late August.

The DSA requires Big Tech to address illegal content, including implementing mechanisms and protections to prevent misuse of their services. The rule also significantly emphasises minors’ protection, so it’s not unexpected that many of the European Commission’s early RFIs are concerned with kid safety.

The latest Commission request to Meta follows a report by the Wall Street Journal that suggests Instagram is struggling to clean up a CSAM problem it exposed this summer — when it revealed Instagram’s algorithms were connecting a web of accounts used for making, buying, and trading underage-sex content.

Following the WSJ exposé, the EU warned Meta that it would face “heavy sanctions” if it did not address kid protection concerns quickly.

Facebook Meta

Meta, the Parent of Facebook and Instagram Failing

Now, months later, another WSJ story claims Meta has failed to address the issues raised, despite the business forming a child safety task group to try to prevent “its own systems from enabling and even promoting a vast network of pedophile accounts,” as the newspaper puts it.

“Five months later, tests conducted by the Journal as well as by the Canadian Centre for Child Protection show that Meta’s recommendation systems still promote such content [i.e. accounts dedicated to producing and sharing underage-sex content],” according to the study.

“The firm has removed pedophilia-related hashtags, but its systems still promote new ones with small modifications. Even when Meta is notified of issue accounts and user groups, it has been inconsistent in eliminating them.”

Meta’s poor performance in combating the spreading of unlawful CSAM/SG-CSAM, as well as its failure to act effectively on linked child safety hazards, could cost the company dearly in the EU: The DSA gives the Commission the authority to impose fines of up to 6% of global annual sales if it considers that the regulation’s terms have been breached.

Just over a year ago, Meta was fined less than half a billion dollars after Instagram was found to have broken the bloc’s data protection laws for minors.

“The Commission is seeking that Meta gives additional information on the steps it has taken to comply with its duties to assess risks and implement effective mitigation measures related to minors’ protection, including the propagation of SG-CSAM on Instagram.

Facebook

Children’s safety on Instagram

The EU also wants to know about Instagram’s recommender system and the amplification of potentially dangerous information,” it said in a news release today, unveiling its newest intelligence-gathering step on the platform.

In addition to the risk of financial punishment, Meta may face reputational difficulties if EU regulators persistently question its approach to protecting minors.

Meta has received three RFIs since DSA compliance began to apply to the corporation; the second focuses on children’s safety on Instagram. (The EU has also asked Meta for further information on how it handles content concerns relating to the Israel-Hamas war, as well as what it is doing to safeguard election security.)

So far, the EU has not announced any formal investigations under the DSA. However, the early rush of RFIs indicates that it is busy conducting assessments that could lead to such a step, raising the possibility of fines later on if any breaches are confirmed.

Meta has until December 22 to supply the Commission with the newest requested kid safety data. Failure to comply with RFIs, such as supplying erroneous, incomplete, or deceptive information in response to a request, may also result in DSA consequences.

Crime

Police Officer Being Ordained at Temple Arrested for Running Scam Call Center

Published

7 months ago

July 20, 2024

Thomas3940

Police Officer Being Ordained at Temple Arrested

Police in Northern Thailand have arrested a fellow officer as he was being ordained at a temple in Ngao district of neighbouring Lampang province.

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Pol Lt Col Bandit Khonkan chief inspector from the Hang Dong police station was disrobed and taken to the Chang Puak station in Chiang Mai. He was arrested on charges of running a call centre scam gang in Chiang Mai Province.

According to Thai Media Chiang Mai Provincial Police Region 5 obtained an arrest warrant for Pol Lt Col Bandit on Friday from the Chiang Mai Provincial Court for procuring illegal telecom equipment, setting up a station and using public airwaves to run a telecommunications business without permission.

Pol Lt Col Bandit reportedly told investigators that he was not the ringleader and was only a member of the gang with Chinese partners.

His arrest followed the apprehension of his 26-year-old daughter, Miss Wanuchapond, 26, and three others during raids at three housing projects in Chiang Mai on Friday, Pol Maj Gen Weerachon Boontawee, deputy chief of Provincial Police Region 5 told Thai media.

During the raids police police discovered around 12 GSM gateways, or SIM boxes, which are devices used for converting cellular networks into mobile phone numbers used domestically.

The chief inspectors daughter Miss Wanuchapond told the arresting officers that she was paid 8,000 baht a month at each of the three locations for renting thr rooms and monitoring devices.

She claimed she had no idea what the devices were and accepted the job because the pay was attractive.

Police investigators working with telecom regulators used a special tracking device to monitor the gang’s communications and learned that its base was in Myanmar opposite Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai.

The call center gang used the GSM gateways to make calls over the internet to scam people in Thailand out of million of baht.

The GSM gateways transmitting signals via SIM boxes to convert them into domestic phone numbers, duping victims into thinking they were being called from Thai government agencies.

Pol Maj Gen Weerachon said that each SIM box held 32 SIM cards, with a capacity of up to 300,000 calls a month. The seized devices had made fraudulent calls over 3.6 million times.

He said the their investigation is ongoing and they are working to track down the remaining conspirators, including Chinese and other Thai suspects.

Authorities are still deciding whether Pol Lt Col Bandit will be dismissed from the force, he said, adding that so far, no other officers are known to have been involved.

Police in Chiang Rai Launch Crackdown on Cyber Criminals in Golden Triangle

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Settha Thavisin has authorized the establishment of an emergency cyber center operated by the Royal Thai Police to combat transnational crimes committed by call center gangs along the Thai border in Chiang Rai province.

On July 19, Prime Minister Settha Thavisin directed the Center to combat information technology crimes. The Royal Thai Police (Royal Thai Police) will crack down on call center gangs in Myanmar, Laos, and along the border.

His directive comes as call center gangs ratchet up their scams to defraud people of their money, causing concern among Thais and jeopardizing the country’s economic and social stability.

Machete Wielding Man Shot an Killed by Police in Chiang Rai

https://www.chiangraitimes.com/chiangrai-news/machete-wielding-man-shot-an-killed-by-police-in-chiang-rai/

Crime

Thai Immigration Police Arrest Colombian Tourists Over Home Invasions

Published

8 months ago

July 20, 2024

Thomas3940

Thai Immigration Police Arrest Colombian Tourist

Immigration police officers have arrested four Colombian nationals in connection with a series of home burglaries at luxury housing complexes in the Bangkok metropolitan area and Chiang Buri Province.

Contents

Police called to home invasion Other Bangkok News:Police in Bangkok Discover Six Vietnamese Tourists Dead in 5 Star Hotel

Pol Maj Gen Panthana Nuchanart, deputy commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, told a press briefing that three of the suspects were apprehended in Nonthaburi Province and the fourth in South Pattaya, Chon Buri Province.

According to the Bangkok Post, the Colombians were charged with stealing conspiracy and seized around 3 million baht (US$82,500.00).

According to Pol Maj Gen Panthana, the criminals rode motorcycles through housing estates, scoping out the properties and waiting for the owners to depart before committing their crimes.

He stated that all four of the accused denied any involvement in the home break-ins, but the arresting squad discovered evidence that implicated them.

Police called to home invasion

Meanwhile, police were dispatched to a luxury housing development in Tambon Nong Prue, Chonburi Province, after a Chinese man was attacked during a house invasion.

When they arrived, they discovered the house owner, Mr. Qian Peng Yi, visibly scared and with marks from being tied up with a cable. He informed police that three Chinese males broke into his home at 9 p.m., one of whom brandished a gun at him and directed him to his bedroom.

They bound his hands and feet, gagged him with fabric, taped his head, and forced him into the bed. The intruders then attempted to compel him into transferring 10 million baht in cryptocurrencies to them, endangering the life of his 33-year-old cousin who was in a second-floor bedroom.

While they scoured the house in search of riches, Mr. Peng Yi managed to flee and hide; he subsequently observed them leave with his cousin. Officials investigated the property and analyzed security camera footage from the incident and surrounding areas.

Around 9 p.m., a 30-year-old van driver came at the Bang Lamung police station after being contacted by an agency to carry Chinese customers from Pattaya to Suvarnabhumi Airport.

The driver informed authorities that he was supposed to pick them up at a motel about a kilometer from the Chinese businessman’s home. He then drove them to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport, arriving at 1 a.m. and receiving 1,800 baht.

The driver took a snapshot of the group smoking at the airport gate and identified one of them as the victim’s cousin. Police suspected coordination between her and the three suspects in her cousin’s heist, who all departed Thailand on the same aircraft.

Other Bangkok News:

Police in Bangkok Discover Six Vietnamese Tourists Dead in 5 Star Hotel

Police in Bangkok Discover Six Vietnamese Tourists Dead in 5 Star Hotel

Crime

Son of Thailand’s Leading Legal Scholar on Corruption Arrested for Running Online Gambling Network

Published

8 months ago

July 17, 2024

Thomas3940

The son of a former senator and leading economist and expert on corruption and gambling in Thailand has been arrested for on charges of running an online gambling network and its payment system.

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Police from Thailand’s Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) have confiscated assets worth more than (US$ 11.1 million) 400 million baht.

Narote Piriyarangsan, 33, was arrested following crackdowns in three sites around the city, according to Pol Maj Gen Athip Pongsiwapai, commander of the police Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD).

Mr Narote’s father, Sangsit Piriyarangsan, is an economist who has written articles and books about corruption and gambling. He was one of the appointed senators that were investigating the government’s intention to legalize casino gaming before their terms expired.

Police also detained 39-year-old Narayut Narakaew, the owner of the gambling website 69pgslot.com. The Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for the couple for operating an internet gambling service and money laundering.

According to the Bangkok Post, police seized two desktop computers, one laptop computer, 14 mobile phones, 21 bank passbooks, 53 ATM cards, and four high-end cars — a Ferrari 926 GTS, an Aston Martin, a Lexus, and a Subaru — totaling more than 400 million baht.

Police launched the inquiry after discovering the online gambling site, which accepted funds via an automatic deposit-withdrawal system through bank accounts and deposits in the AskMePay system. Players scanned the VPay QR code as well as the QR codes for Heng Online 888 or Heng Pay Company.

Police also discovered that payments received via QR code scans were transferred to the account of Heng Pay Co and then to the gambling website’s mule accounts using AskMePay, which did not use banks’ face recognition scanning. An inquiry indicated a monthly turnover of approximately 5 billion baht.

According to investigators, the website has been up and running for around four years, with the payment mechanism in use for roughly eight months.

According to Pol Maj Gen Athip, Mr Narote owns the gaming website’s payment systems and is the director of Heng Pay Co. After gathering evidence, authorities requested arrest warrants for 14 people.

Thailand does not allow almost any kind of gaming. Even though the law doesn’t say anything specific about online gaming, it is still considered gambling. The country has pretty strict rules about gambling. Thai punters can bet on the national lottery and horse races, but they can’t bet on any other types of games.

But it’s not a secret that there is a huge illegal gaming business in Thailand, even though it’s illegal.

The illegal casinos, online betting shops, underground lotteries, and pop-up bookies that take bets on everything from cockfights to Muay Thai make a shadow economy that is worth billions of dollars every year.