1,500 arrested for online fraud and gambling in 2022 in Thailand

The Ministry of Digital Economy and Society released the figures from cybercrime. 

Thailand.- Thailand’s Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (DES), through its Cybercrime Control Committee, revealed its annual statistics on cybercrime from 2022 at their first meeting of the year.

According to DES minister Chaiwut Thanakhamanusorn, more than 1,500 people were arrested for online fraud and gambling last year. The Bangkok Post reported eight call centre scams saw 166 suspects nabbed among the 1,570 arrest cases, while the other arrests involved illegal online gambling websites in 461 cases, and online trading fraud in 270 cases.

After the meeting, it was also informed the committee also had a follow-up on closing 6,024 illegal website URLs, most of which were suspected of opening anti-monarchy and illegal online gambling websites.

Thanakhamanusorn told The Bangkok Post that since online gambling is considered legal in some neighbouring countries, players from Thailand tend to gamble on those websites, “which might cause huge damage to the economy and society.”

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