The Thai government is intensifying efforts to combat transnational crime, particularly targeting the increasingly rampant call center scam gangs. However, this action faces many challenges and is extremely difficult to manage.
Rangsiman Rome, a member of the People's Party, chairman of the National Security, Border Affairs, National Strategy, and Reform Committee, pointed out in the parliament that although the Thai government has issued the "Royal Decree on Prevention and Suppression of Cybercrime," enhancing the supervision of mule accounts, mule SIM cards, and online platforms, and cooperating with China, Laos, and Cambodia to sweep the scam networks, the scam gangs have already taken deep roots and are very difficult to manage.
Recently, the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) of Thailand cut off the electricity supply to five key transaction points along the Thai-Myanmar border, including Mongbong Ban Phra Chedi Sam Ong - Phaya Tung Su, Shan State Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge - Tachilek, Shan State Ban Muang Daeng - Tachilek, Thai-Myanmar Friendship Bridge 2 - Myawaddy, and Ban Huai Muang - Mueang Myawaddy area, totaling a power outage of 20.37 megawatts, with an annual electricity loss of about 600 million Thai baht, approximately 1% of Thailand's annual electricity sales.
Rangsiman revealed that there are about 40 scam dens in the Myawaddy area alone, while data in Phaya Tongsu, Tachilek, and other places have not yet been grasped. There are about 30 scam bases in Cambodia, about 5 in Laos, and scam networks spread across multiple countries, causing tens of thousands of victims worldwide, with economic losses up to 2.2 trillion Thai baht. The entire industry employs about 300,000 people, and eradicating it is not an easy task. It must be approached from multiple levels, including strengthening law enforcement, cutting off electricity and networks, controlling oil supplies, and enhancing border management to prevent the resurgence of criminal forces.
In the Tha Kham district, the government is taking measures to close illegal trading channels and increase the management of mule accounts to reduce the losses of scam victims. In addition, the government also needs to adjust foreign and immigration policies, restricting visa-free entry in specific areas to prevent scam groups from using Thailand as a criminal springboard.
Rangsiman emphasized that the large scale of call center scam gangs cannot be separated from the support of gray capital, and the root of all this lies in bribery. He called on the committee to invite security department officials to explain how bribery operates, which stakeholders are involved, and to thoroughly investigate corruption within the civil service system to break the operation chain of overseas gray capital in Thailand.
