Govt cracks down on Covid scammers
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published : 10 Apr 2021 at 04:00
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The Finance Ministry is seeking to prosecute 1,000 shops and individuals it claims defrauded the Kon La Krueng (Half-Half) co-payment scheme designed to help alleviate financial hardship during the Covid-19 crisis.
One grocery shop owner in Bangkok and six accomplices have already been prosecuted for the offence, according to a ministry spokeswoman.
Kulaya Tantitemit said the ministry has submitted a list of shops and individuals involved in the co-payment scheme fraud to police and the Technology Crime Suppression Division for investigation and prosecution.
A total of 1,024 shops and individuals are in the ministry s cross hairs. Of them 85 have been formally charged with fraud.
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Facebook has taken down 185 accounts and groups engaged in coordinated information operations on behalf of the Thai military, the tech behemoth said on Wednesday, the latest example of a Southeast Asian government manipulating social media to political ends.
The social media firm stated that the accounts were part of a total of 915 Facebook accounts and 68 pages based in Thailand, Russia, Morocco, and Iran that were removed for violating its policy on “coordinated inauthentic behavior.”
In Thailand, the company removed 77 accounts, 72 pages, and 18 groups on Facebook, as well as 18 accounts on Instagram. As Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook’s Head of Cybersecurity Policy, told Reuters, “This is the first time that we’ve attributed one of our takedowns to links to the Thai military.”
Jailed activists could face further charges bangkokpost.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from bangkokpost.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Bogus romeo bust, motorcycle taxi thug, teacher lust
published : 21 Feb 2021 at 04:00 I kept sending him money
A faded celebrity s attempts to part women from their money have fallen apart after a group of his victims, wary of his troubled history on the internet, came together to lodge complaints with police.
Technology Crime Suppression Division police and Metropolitan Police Bureau officers last week arrested Athikun Ken Lee Chotithanatpiti, 25, for allegedly conning at least 10 victims out of 10 million baht in a series of scams which in recent times extended to threats of violence and blackmail.
Police say Ken Lee, known for his Chinese-style good looks, preyed on women looking for partners at dating sites, offering to sell them brand name goods including high-end phones but failing to deliver. He also asked victims to invest in a convenience store.
Thailand’s Creeping Digital Authoritarianism
Since the military coup of 2014, Thailand has developed one of the most sophisticated systems of digital surveillance in Southeast Asia.
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February 17, 2021
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January saw a Thai court hand down a record-breaking 43 and a half- year sentence to a Thai woman convicted of breaking the country’s infamous lese majeste law. The court based the conviction on audio clips that the woman had posted on Facebook and YouTube. The sentencing has, once again, drawn attention to the country’s lese majeste law. But it has also provoked much speculation concerning the state’s ability to monitor Thai netizens, an ability that has become greatly enhanced in recent years.