Investment scams have become increasingly sophisticated. Scammers commonly use social media, online advertisements, or direct messages to solicit victims, often impersonating well known individuals, securities companies, or credible agencies to gain trust before deceiving the public into investing. These schemes take various forms, including transferring money into specified accounts, downloading investment applications, or using websites.

In the most recent case, the SEC received reports of fraudsters impersonating securities companies or securities brokers to solicit investments through applications exhibiting suspicious characteristics indicative of potential investment scams. The SEC therefore initiated an investigation, published the names of the applications on the Investor Alert system, and issued public warnings about the incident through the SEC’s official Facebook Page.

In addition, the SEC has coordinated with Google, the application platform provider, whereby Google has already blocked and removed such investment scam applications from its platform to swiftly reduce access channels for scammers and minimize potential harm to the public.

Mrs. Pornanong Budsaratragoon, SEC Secretary General, stated: “The SEC recognizes the seriousness of investment scams, which continue to intensify and cause increasingly significant harm to the public. Losses from such scams remain the highest among all forms of computer related fraud nationwide. The SEC is therefore committed to strengthening proactive actions through the SEC Investment Scam Hotline, which serves as a channel for providing consultation to the public and investors. This effort is carried out alongside integrated public-private collaboration to block the channels exploited by scammers, thereby disrupting the cycle of investment scams and swiftly reducing potential harm to the public. With such collaboration, blocking actions can be completed within 7 minutes to 48 hours.”

These measures are fully aligned with the SEC’s mission to combat investment scams under the 3Cs framework: Consultation—providing guidance and receiving incident reports; Communication—issuing timely warnings in coordination with partners and establishing a centralized information hub; and Collaboration—working in synergy with relevant agencies to block access of investment scams and mitigate potential harm to the public.

The SEC strongly urges the public to be extra cautious when considering investment solicitations, particularly those made via social media or unfamiliar applications. Individuals should verify whether the soliciting party or business operator is licensed and under the SEC’s supervision. Offers promising unusually high returns or pressuring individuals to make immediate money transfer decisions should be treated as warning signs of potential scams.

The public and investors who are unsure whether an offer may constitute an investment scam can (1) verify the list of individuals or entities that are not regulated by the SEC through the Investor Alert section on the SEC’s website; (2) search for capital market service providers regulated by the SEC, as well as authorized investment products (securities and digital assets) to support their investment decision making, via the SEC Check First tool available on the SEC’s website and application; or (3) seek direct consultation with SEC officers via the Investment Scam Hotline at 1207, press 22.