Premier Warns Against Easy Money Scams, Easy Cash Does Not Exist

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul warned the public not to fall victim to scammers promising easy wealth, speaking at Bangkok Railway Station on August 15 after opening the Digital Shield campaign. He emphasized that people should ignore such calls even when threatened or when callers claim to be relatives in debt, and should report immediately to police.

"Tell yourself not to follow their instructions, no matter what threats they make," Anutin said. "If you can file a report and log it with police, the police and the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society will coordinate to rapidly arrest and prosecute these criminals."

Anutin stated that overnight wealth and high returns from one or two phone calls simply do not exist—only deception that causes suffering. He cited statistics showing that call center scams have dropped by more than 50 percent over the past six to seven months, thanks to coordinated work with agencies including the Anti-Money Laundering Office. He noted that while authorities are pursuing perpetrators and seizing cash assets, some may disappear before seizure or be laundered before confiscation.

When asked about the government's targets for reducing fraud cases, Anutin said the goal is set at the highest level and requires a comprehensive campaign so people do not become victims. He cited tragic cases in which government employees and retirees lost four to five million baht in savings from a single scam call promising high returns.

"If people avoid becoming victims of these criminals, they can live normally without debt and retire happily," he said. "In this world, easy money does not exist. Don't do anything and just believe others will make you rich. In reality, that is not how the world works."