The Bank of Thailand (BoT) has issued a warning that more bank accounts may face temporary suspension as authorities broaden investigations into transfers linked to so-called “mule accounts” in order to recover funds for scam victims.

Daranee Saeju, BoT assistant governor in charge of consumer protection, confirmed that commercial banks and the Anti-Online Scam Operation Centre (AOC) have already suspended numerous accounts under this crackdown.

Only accounts found to have received money from mule accounts are being suspended so far, pending verification.

Other balances and transactions remain accessible, according to Ms. Daranee.

The temporary suspensions, she said, are not equivalent to full account freezes in the legal sense.

Procedures are being adjusted: banks may suspend suspected funds for up to three days, and the police can extend that suspension to seven days.

If no evidence of wrongdoing emerges within those periods, the frozen funds are to be released to the account holders.

Ms. Daranee explained that some account holders noticed negative balances when flagged amounts exceeded the actual current balance; banks have been instructed to resolve such discrepancies directly with affected customers.

Permanent freezes of accounts require a judicial order supported by evidence under existing legal frameworks.

A joint war room has been established involving DES (Digital Economy and Society Ministry), the Bank of Thailand, the Thai Bankers’ Association, the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB), and the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO).

The unit’s mandate includes examining cases in detail, distinguishing innocent account holders from those knowingly involved in mule operations, and speeding up the release of suspended funds when appropriate.

Criteria under review include the paths of money transfers, patterns of account activity, and whether usage aligns with account holders’ normal financial behaviour.

Over six hundred to seven hundred calls were reportedly made in a single morning to DES hotlines by people affected.

CCIB Commissioner Pol Lt Gen Trairong Phiwpan said that while mule accounts were once handled through simpler schemes, fraudsters increasingly use legitimate-seller purchases followed by resale for cash.

In some cases, vendors knowingly stage fake sales in return for commission; in others, they are misled.

Affected individuals are urged to contact their local police stations or use appropriate hotlines if their issues are not resolved by banks.

When suspensions are lifted, banks will notify account holders directly, and neither DES nor the Anti-Online Scam Operation Centre will call customers to avoid impersonation risks.

Daranee Saeju, BoT assistant governor in charge of consumer protection, said on Saturday that numerous accounts had already been frozen as the Anti-Online Scam Operation Centre (AOC), together with commercial banks, intensified operations to trace and return stolen funds.

Ms Daranee said freezing suspected accounts was vital for tracking and returning stolen funds to scam victims while stressing that authorities were working to improve the freezing and unfreezing procedures so scammers were dealt with effectively while ensuring ordinary customers were not affected.

She said agencies would speed up the release of funds for individuals found to be uninvolved in scams and urged customers to call its 1213 hotline for immediate assistance if their problem was not resolved by their banks.