.svg)
As part of a major crackdown on suspected mule accounts, Thailand is preparing to block access to mobile banking for customers whose identities do not match that of their SIM card owners.
Led by the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, Thailand is stepping up its anti-scam defences with a large-scale push to clean up its mobile banking sector.
At the end of last year, a coalition of public and private authorities began a joint effort to identify mismatches between mobile banking users and the identities of the SIM card owners associated with their accounts.
In November 2024, a nationwide data collection exercise identified 120m mobile phone numbers, each of which were placed into one of three groups: M, N or P.
- Group M (around 63 percent of the total) refers to phone numbers where the name of a mobile banking customer matches that of the associated SIM card.
- Group N (25 percent of the total) refers to phone numbers where the name of a mobile banking customer does not match that of the associated SIM card.
- Group P (11 percent of the total) refers to phone numbers with no named SIM card owner associated with a mobile banking account.
Since February 1, 2025, banks have been informing Groups N and P of the mismatch or lack of identifying information associated with their accounts.
Banks are permitted to make these communications only via mobile banking channels, to prevent scammers from fraudulently obtaining personal information via calls, links or SMS.
Those that have been notified must update the SIM card owner's name so that it matches that of the mobile banking account owner’s name (if applicable) by April 30, 2025.
Covered persons will be required to verify their identities with their mobile network provider using government-issued ID documents.
If no action is taken by April 30, the Bank of Thailand (BOT), the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) and the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) may consider suspending the number from accessing mobile banking.
BOT expands colour-coded mule prevention system
The crackdown on mobile numbers follows the launch of a colour-coded system for identifying and disrupting money mule activity by the BOT in July 2024.
The system began with three tiers of mules: black mules; grey mules; and brown mules.
Black mules are persons who have already been listed as offenders under the 2023 Royal Decree on Measures to Prevent and Suppress Technology Crimes.
Grey mules are persons who have been reported to the police or to a bank as associated with mule activity.
They are added to the Central Fraud Registry (CFR) of the Thai Bankers Association, where they are visible to all banks.
Black and grey mules cannot open new bank accounts and cannot receive funds transfers.
Brown mules are persons a bank has identified as exhibiting unusual behaviour that may indicate money mule activity, and banks can share information about these accounts in order to coordinate increased monitoring.
This month, the BOT will add light grey mules and dark brown mules to the taxonomy.
Light grey mules are accounts that are thought to have broken the law, but have not been reported to the police.
Dark brown mules are accounts that have not broken the law, but whose suspicious activity meets the threshold for the bank to report the account to the police.
The prohibition on opening new accounts and receiving funds transfers will also be extended to light grey and dark brown mules.
This will be done in conjunction with a new notification system that lets payers know that the reason they cannot execute a funds transfer is because the payee’s account is suspicious.
Chayawadee Chaianan, assistant governor of corporate relations at the BOT, said the measures align with the central bank’s efforts to take a more “proactive” stance against money mule activity.
If a crime has already taken place, said Chaianan, the aim of banks, regulators and law enforcement has to shift from prevention to disruption.
“We have to focus on cutting off the money transfer pathway by freezing mule accounts, thereby reducing the tools fraudsters have at their disposal,” he said.
“If we can suspend transactions or restrict usage, it will make it harder for fraudsters to succeed.”
By the end of 2024, 1.75m accounts belonging to 134,000 people had been frozen under the BOT’s colour-coded initiative.
Challenges persist, despite decline in call centre scam activity
This week, the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society also published new data showing significant drops in call centre scam cases and losses.
In February 2025, call centre scam cases dropped 20 percent and losses dropped almost 30 percent month-over-month.
The ministry said the reductions are due to the government's decision to cut off fuel, electricity and internet access to border towns in Myanmar and Cambodia that are believed to be hubs of scam activity.
In Myawaddy alone, a Myanmar town that borders Thailand’s Tak province, the ministry estimates that more than 10,000 people are employed by scam call centres.
