At present, the damage caused by investment frauds and scams, which come in various forms, reaches 26,899 million baht in value, the highest among all types of the country’s online scams, causing considerable loss to the public and investors. The SEC found that the latest schemes involved scammers impersonating the companies listed or about to get listed on the SET, particularly those famous or well-known ones, to lure investors into investment scams, falsely believing that such investment solicitations were legitimate.

The public therefore should be aware of investment solicitations in such manner and check the information carefully before making investment decisions. Three following observation points are recommended to take notice of:

        1) If you are invited to invest in the trading of securities listed on the SET, you have to open the trading account only with the SEC-licensed securities companies, the list of which can be checked via the SEC Check First web site (https://market.sec.or.th/LicenseCheck/Search);

        2) Before transferring investment money, you have to make sure that the bank account you are going to transfer money into belongs to the “SEC-licensed securities companies” and not to any non-SEC licensed individuals or juristic persons;

        3) If you are solicited by anyone claiming they are the companies listed on the SET or SEC-licensed securities business operators, do verify the information directly with such companies before making investment decisions.

Mr. Anek Yooyuen, SEC Deputy Secretary-General and Spokesperson, said: “The SEC has provided a number of tools for the public to verify information so that they will not fall victim to fraudsters and scammers who usually lure investors with the messages and information that look legitimate. In this regard, those who are interested in making investments should beware and check the information carefully at each stage of activities to avoid risks and damage that may arise from being scammed, e.g., opening trading accounts and verifying KYC (Know Your Customer) only with the SEC-licensed securities companies and avoiding to click the links or send the account numbers for money transfer to any company and/or person.”

If you have further inquiries, need advice, or wish to notify suspicious activities, please contact SEC Investment Scam Alert Hotline at 1207 ext. 22 or send the requests to Scamalert@sec.or.th or SEC website: https://www.sec.or.th/TH/Pages/ScamAlert.aspx. For verification of licensed or approved entities or persons under the SEC supervision, please visit www.sec.or.th/seccheckfirst or install the SEC Check First application.