The Thai government is advocating for increased public awareness on internet safety following a report indicating significant financial losses due to online fraud.

According to thaipoliceonline.com, fraudulent trading is the most prevalent form of online crime in Thailand, causing locals to lose 74.8 billion baht from March 1, 2022, to October 31, 2024.

Deputy Government Spokesperson Kamron Polpornklang revealed these figures, highlighting the 708,141 online fraud complaints filed during this period, with daily losses averaging 77 million baht.

Despite efforts that resulted in the freezing of 544,183 scam-related accounts with over 43 billion baht, much of the stolen money is still unrecovered.

The report categorizes the main forms of scams, with investment scams topping the list at 26.89 billion baht in damages, followed by work-from-home schemes and telephone extortion.

A recent spike in complaints last month involved 36,138 cases, leading to daily losses of 89 million baht.

Kamron emphasized the need for comprehensive public education on online safety and urged victims to report fraud promptly via thaipoliceonline.com, the 1441 police hotline, or the Anti-Fraud Center at (081) 866 3000.