A large number of people have been making social media posts about instances of money being deducted from their bank accounts despite not having ordered transactions or purchased goods or services. A Facebook group dedicated to the issue is now sharing many reports of these instances from alleged victims, while banks and government agencies are now looking into the matter.

The Bank of Thailand and The Thai Bankers’ Association said that banks have now suspended the cards of clients who encountered abnormal transactions, and were scrutinizing the stores that were the sources of the anomalies. The association said the deductions in question were not caused by information leaks from banks, and were mostly transactions associated with goods and services offered by online stores registered abroad. It also said the transactions did not involve money-draining mobile applications, which have become a topic in the news.

Customers who detect anomalies in financial transactions may immediately contact each bank’s call center or branch to report the dubious activity and confirm the validity of each transaction. Banks will address each of the issues and work to return money to the victims of unauthorized deductions.

Meanwhile, government spokesperson Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana disclosed that the prime minister has been informed of the matter and relevant agencies have been ordered to probe this irregularity. He said he was personally coordinating with the Thai Bankers’ Association, which has informed him that discussions on the matter were being had among its banking fraud teams as well as among chief information officers of various banks.

Source: NBT