Government Accelerates Development of ‘DE-fence Platform’ to Combat Technology Crimes.

Bangkok: The government is taking decisive steps to address the issue of technology crimes, specifically online fraud and transnational crimes, by accelerating the development of the 'DE-fence platform.' This anti-fraud initiative is designed to screen incoming calls and SMS, with the aim of being operational by early 2025. According to Thai News Agency, Ms. Sasikarn Wattanachan, the deputy government spokeswoman, announced that the government is focusing on protecting public interests by collaborating with relevant agencies. The Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, in partnership with the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), the Royal Thai Police, and telecommunications network providers, is spearheading the project. The DE-fence platform will work as an anti-scam solution, preventing fraudulent calls and SMS by verifying numbers from key agencies. The National Digital Economy and Society Commission (NDEC) has been tasked to expedite the platform's development. Ms. Sasikarn h ighlighted that this initiative aims to thwart call center scams that deceive individuals through calls and SMS. As part of these efforts, new SMS service providers will be required to register their services by 2024, ensuring transparency in identifying service providers and SMS senders. Additionally, the registration of SMS containing links will require detailed message and link specifications to enable network providers to verify the content before reaching users. The DE-fence platform will enable telecommunication operators to access the most current number information by connecting their databases. It will also link with databases from the police, the Anti-Money Laundering Office, the AOC 1441 Center, and the Ministry of Digital Economy. This will allow the platform to alert the public about the nature and risk level of incoming calls and SMS, identifying potential scams or abnormalities in SMS links. Furthermore, it includes an online reporting system and criminal account seizure notifications via the AOC 1441, with user identity verification to assist police investigations. The platform categorizes incoming calls and SMS into three groups: 1) Blacklist: Numbers confirmed by relevant agencies as perpetrators, which users are advised to block or have blocked automatically. 2) Greylist: Suspicious numbers, often from foreign or internet contacts, with notifications to users about the risk levels associated with these communications. 3) Whitelist: Numbers verified as government or correctly registered agency contacts, or numbers approved by platform users for communication. In its initial phase, the DE-fence platform will focus on telephone numbers and SMS, particularly the Whitelist of government agencies commonly exploited by criminals. Future phases will expand the Whitelist and enhance protections for social media contacts. This proactive measure underscores the government's commitment to tackling technological crimes comprehensively and effectively.