News Forum - Junk messages must now be blocked by Thai mobile carriers

[Thaiger]

An order made by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission this week declared that all mobile phone operators must now block junk messages and fraudulent SMS. The order is aimed at curbing unsolicited junk messages on people’s mobile phones and protecting them from scams or malicious advertisements. The new order went into effect on September 23 and applies to all mobile phone operators in Thailand, according to the secretary-general of the NBTC. Thailand’s mobile phone operators AIS, DTAC, NT, True, and 3BB are now required to block junk and fraudulent messages including those about online lending, gambling, and any pornographic […]

The post Junk messages must now be blocked by Thai mobile carriers appeared first on Thaiger News.

Read the full story

[gummy]

People they don't try and stop the scammers on Facebook too

[AdvocatusDiaboli]

10 minutes ago, Thaiger said:

The order is aimed at curbing unsolicited junk messages on people’s mobile phones and protecting them from scams or malicious advertisements.

Just in time for the local Elections later this year! And a trial run for the country’s election further down track.

[Changnam43]

I get these messages usually shortly after a visit to an immigration office.   I very rarely give out my real phone number to people but I give it to them.

[PhayakPeter]

About time, phone companies selling your number on to make money. Should do that in the UK 

[KaptainRob]

Telco's can stop the spam (source of revenue) quite easily.  We used to get on 2 phones until I complained to AIS and it immediately stopped.  

[Lowseasonlover]

I never give my phone number to anyone, I give my wife's out 555,

Is anybody else getting dodgy phone calls? I had one saying they were from DHL and a friend of my wife had the same,

[NCC1701A]

40 minutes ago, KaptainRob said:

Telco's can stop the spam (source of revenue) quite easily.  We used to get on 2 phones until I complained to AIS and it immediately stopped.  

yes AIS has excellent English speaking staff and they stop the spam instantly.  

and i will have everyone know i am a member of the AIS Emerald Serenade Club so I can hangout with HiSo Thais in the Bangkok malls. 

[AlexPTY]

25 minutes ago, Lowseasonlover said:

I never give my phone number to anyone, I give my wife's out 555,

Is anybody else getting dodgy phone calls? I had one saying they were from DHL and a friend of my wife had the same,

Yes DHL scam is quite popular right now, they also send e-mails with the shipping manifest attachment caring a virus

[Bluesofa]

54 minutes ago, KaptainRob said:

Telco's can stop the spam (source of revenue) quite easily.  We used to get on 2 phones until I complained to AIS and it immediately stopped.  

Agreed. It must have been about five years ago the last time I asked AIS to stop any spam messages, which worked well.
I've noticed that over the past year they've been starting again. I just delete the few I receive.
I'll leave it for now and see what a useless quango can do, if anything.

 

15 minutes ago, NCC1701A said:

yes AIS has excellent English speaking staff and they stop the spam instantly.  

and i will have everyone know i am a member of the AIS Emerald Serenade Club so I can hangout with HiSo Thais in the Bangkok malls. 

Ahh! So that's what i need to do with that membership. I've just been ignoring it for twenty years. I'd better get my arse down to Bangkok.

[Lowseasonlover]

5 minutes ago, AlexPTY said:

Yes DHL scam is quite popular right now, they also send e-mails with the shipping manifest attachment caring a virus

She got no change out of me, 

[Bluesofa]

50 minutes ago, Lowseasonlover said:

57 minutes ago, AlexPTY said:

Yes DHL scam is quite popular right now, they also send e-mails with the shipping manifest attachment caring a virus

She got no change out of me, 

Yes, but you've really got to want to change yourself. They can't force you.

[Paco]

They should also stop making marketing calls especially AIS 

[Smithydog]

The problem isn't as easy to solve as many people think. It can vary hugely from country to country and Telco to Telco.

One way to block is for the Telco to do it for you. In most cases this is by blocking numbers on a pre-determined list of numbers from previous reports collated over time, either through their own investigations or by data collected by customer reports.

Software programs for mass marketing have been around for many years. Some may not even need you to provide your phone number as they may use an associated dialler program similar to what is used in some outbound sales call centres. Such diallers start at the first number in a phone number sequence and then proceed to call each number after that in turn (e.g. 0400xxxxxa, 0400xxxxxb and so forth). Numbers are verified as been possible valid (in use) numbers depending on the response the dialler gets. That number is then listed for a sms to be sent or one sent automatically depending on the tie in to the software sending program in use.

Other texts are sent from pre-prepared lists of numbers programmed into the dialler or sms creator. These are obtained from existing customers or some bought legitimately of fraudulently over the internet. Every time you share your mobile number for anything, it has potential to go onto a list.

Most blocks occur because the Telco has received previous reports from known frauds, customer calls and even law enforcement. Hence systems have been updated with new number to block the originating dialler number. But even that is only temporarily effective. All the fraud types do is go an buy another prepaid number!

Success can also be limited by the various Telcos across the world and simple incompatibility of computer systems. Not every Telco in the world offers exactly the same service. So how it is set up in one country can actually bypass the security features in another. 

The best things to do. Check the Telco's website as some have details on their site. Or contact your Telco for advice. The more information they have the better. Don't assume the operator taking your call can see everything. For example, in Australia, customer facing staff were blocked from seeing certain information due to various legal reasons. Be nice to them, remembering they didn't send you the text!

And most importantly, if you have a gut feeling about an sms being a fraud, don't reply to it and don't click on any links. You may be surprised how many people actually do respond and then often it is too late!

[Blogosopher]

No one should be permitted to intentionally call your phone/send a text message unless they have a legitimate reason known to the recipient. In the west, it costs money/goes against your account to receive a call/text message, as well as make a call/send a text...unless you pay for an unlimited plan.

[HiuMak]

Its a good initiative by Thai authorities i believe. In Australia, you get regular scammers calling from different countries or states. I just do not pick them up. How do you guys handle these scammers?

[Bluesofa]

4 minutes ago, HiuMak said:

Its a good initiative by Thai authorities i believe. In Australia, you get regular scammers calling from different countries or states. I just do not pick them up. How do you guys handle these scammers?

Years ago back in the UK before mobile phones, there were cold-callers on your home phone trying to sell life insurance or double glazing. While they weren't scammers, most people found it pretty irritating.
Being rude to the cold-callers was like water off a duck's back - they had it happen all the time.

My approach when I received such a call was to tell them I was interested, but just needed to answer the doorbell and I'd be right back in thirty seconds. Then I just left the phone handset on the side, so they could hear the TV in the background. I carried on watching TV, ignoring the caller and deliberately wasting their time.

[Faraday]

36 minutes ago, Bluesofa said:

Years ago back in the UK before mobile phones, there were cold-callers on your home phone trying to sell life insurance or double glazing. While they weren't scammers, most people found it pretty irritating.
Being rude to the cold-callers was like water off a duck's back - they had it happen all the time.

My approach when I received such a call was to tell them I was interested, but just needed to answer the doorbell and I'd be right back in thirty seconds. Then I just left the phone handset on the side, so they could hear the TV in the background. I carried on watching TV, ignoring the caller and deliberately wasting their time.

I wonder if Jehovah's witnesses still knock on people's doors?

[Lowseasonlover]

2 minutes ago, Faraday said:

I wonder if Jehovah's witnesses still knock on people's doors?

See them from time to time in Phuket, 

[Bluesofa]

17 minutes ago, Lowseasonlover said:

19 minutes ago, Faraday said:

I wonder if Jehovah's witnesses still knock on people's doors?

See them from time to time in Phuket, 

That's jogged my memory now.
Thirty years ago I was sharing  flat near Klong Toey in Bangkok. One day we had the Jo-Jo's turn up at the door trying to convert the locals. I just took the p!ss, but i did see later the police had apprehended them.
I heard they ended up being charged for working without a work permit. It just goes to prove god does work in mysterious ways.

[palooka]

21 hours ago, Paco said:

They should also stop making marketing calls especially AIS 

Put TRUE in there too. Everytime I put more credit on my phone I get hit with up to 20 messages (all in thai) to buy this or that etc. Some of my credit disappears at the same time.  Maybe now it'll stop.

[AlexPTY]

with the speed of leaking private information in Thailand, good luck with that

[Kes]

Had very few in my time with DTAC (22 years 5 months 26 days) but see this as a good move. 

[Kes]

1 hour ago, Faraday said:

I wonder if Jehovah's witnesses still knock on people's doors?

They send letters now. Got one the other day. 

Edited September 27, 2021 by Kes