Thailand was shocked recently by reports of online fraud victims claiming that hackers had secured access to their personal information through their charging cables, and used the stolen information to illegally transfer money out of their bank accounts.
How to avoid online attacks
After consulting with the Thai Bankers’ Association, the Bank of Thailand (BOT) clarified that the online fraud cases had not been caused by scammers hacking their devices through their charging cables in public places. The victims had downloaded trojan applications without knowing that hackers use malware to take control of their mobile phone remotely. The BOT and banks have issued guidelines, including urging mobile banking users to be cautious about applications they download to their devices.
The BOT advised users to download applications only from official stores such as Google Play store and App Store.
The central bank advised users not to click on links they receive on SMS or Line messages if they are not sure about the source of the message. The BOT issued the advisory amid a sharp spike in phishing messages sent by hackers via SMS, Line and email to lure receivers by tempting them with bank loans or financial rewards from banks or other institutions.
The BOT issued the following guidelines to improve safety:
– Mobile banking clients should update their mobile banking app or set up their mobile phones to automatically update the latest version of mobile app. The update…
