BANGKOK, Oct 11 (TNA) – The police have launched a major operation targeting the infrastructure used by call center scammers, aiming to cut off their communication lines and disrupt their operations.
The operation, codenamed “Bomb the Thieves’ Bridge,” was spearheaded by Pol. Gen. Kittirat Phanphet, acting National Police Chief and Director of the Technology Crime Suppression Division.
The nationwide crackdown, which ran from October 1-10, involved raids on 647 retail stores suspected of selling and registering SIM cards to criminal syndicates.
Authorities seized over 101,000 SIM cards, 113 SIM boxes, 575 mobile phones, 23 computers, and numerous documents such as copies of ID cards, passports, and work permits that had been used to register these SIM cards.
The operation revealed two major loopholes in the SIM card registration process which are bulk SIM card ownership and online registration flaws.
Despite regulations limiting individual SIM card ownership to five, many criminals were still found to possess a large number of SIM cards. These cards were often registered before the new regulations were implemented.
In addition, the online registration system was unable to effectively detect fraudulent registrations. For instance, individuals could upload any image or type any name into the system, making it difficult to verify the identity of the registrant.
To address these issues, the Technology Crime Suppression Division will work with the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) and telecommunications providers to implement stricter regulations and improve verification processes.
Moreover, authorities will focus on tracing the phone numbers used by scammers and identifying the retail stores that registered these SIM cards. By targeting the supply of SIM cards to criminal syndicates, police hope to significantly reduce the number of call center scams in Thailand.
The operation will continue to target other aspects of call center infrastructure, including SIM boxes, bank accounts, SMS messaging, and social media platforms. -819 (TNA)
