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Online Fraud Prevention in Thailand

Ecommerce fraud and online fraud prevention in Thailand

Read below about payment fraud, online fraud and fraud prevention Thailand

A spate of ATM skimming attacks has highlighted the slow progress towards chip migration in Thailand, and card fraud is increasing rapidly. Ecommerce growth has, to date, been slow but the market is forecast to grow significantly and this will have further implications for card fraud attempts.

There are currently 20 million credit cards in Thailand and it is estimated that card fraud levels are between USD 360 million and USD 420 million, growing at a rate of 20% a year.

Card skimming crimes have been widely reported in the media, with the attacks reportedly taking place across a range of bank ATMs. Bangkok Bank, an early adopter, has suggested that all banks should adopt chip and PIN technology over the next two years. At some banks, up to 70% of ATMs are currently incapable of reading chip cards.

Phishing and sharing of personal data via social media have also been highlighted as key problem areas in Thailand.

Ecommerce fraud prevention

AT Kearney estimates that the ecommerce market in Thailand has the potential to reach USD 15 billion, compared to the current market total of USD 1 billion, about 1% of total retail sales. However, the firm identifies a number of barriers to growth, including inadequate broadband access. To combat connectivity issues, the Thai government plans to introduce a national broadband network that ‘gives access to all’.

Significant numbers of payment transactions still involve cash on delivery and 62% of online shoppers in Thailand are reported to be reluctant to give their credit card information online. In May 2014, a Bank of Thailand study was reported to have found that online buyers chose to use bank transfers rather than card payments, because of security concerns. 

Where card-not-present (CNP) transactions take place, steps are being taken to prevent fraud, including the issuance of one-time passwords, sent to customers’ mobile phones via an SMS message. This approach will need to be supplemented by robust, sophisticated fraud prevention and authentication strategies, to reassure consumers and ensure that the predicted growth in ecommerce delivers profitable growth for merchants.