Call center gangs and cross-border scammers have quietly drained Thai wallets for years, pushing total fraud losses to a national crisis level. But mid-2025 brought encouraging news when Thailand's Ministry of Digital Economy for Society revealed that scam damages fell significantly over four months, with a little-known law proving to be the breakthrough weapon: the "2025 Decree on Disclosure of Personal Information Held by State Agencies to Other State Agencies."

The decree took effect on June 30, 2025, after royal gazette publication on June 29. Its core purpose is to require state agencies to share personal data they hold with other state agencies upon request, enabling faster electronic cross-linking of information to serve the public. Previously, citizen data scattered across police, tax authorities, customs, and business development agencies sat trapped in separate "silos," forcing investigators to navigate slow bureaucratic channels to trace suspects' financial movements. The new law unlocked rapid data-sharing between agencies.

Digital Economy Minister Chaiyachanok Chidchob announced that his ministry has already integrated data with five major agencies: the National Police Office, the Special Cases Investigation Department (DSI), the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), the Bank of Thailand, and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Acting under anti-cybercrime powers, these agencies now access bank account data linked to scammer networks.

Results are striking: scam losses in June 2025 dropped to around 530 million baht, down from 2.111 billion baht in March 2025—a 1.581 billion baht decline, or roughly 75%, in just four months. When the decree reaches full implementation, the minister said, it will enable even broader data-linking across government, giving authorities a complete money-trail picture and faster victim restitution.

Most scam bases operate outside Thailand, scattered along borders with Myanmar and in special economic zones in Laos, backed by gray-market Chinese funding networks. National Police data show that since launching an online complaint system in March 2021 through September 2024, over one million online fraud cases have been reported, with cumulative losses exceeding 100 billion baht. Early 2025 saw major crackdowns in gray zones along the border, forcing call centers to repeatedly relocate—a "whack-a-mole" pattern rather than root-cause fixes, even as the private sector grapples with fallout.

The Deputy Permanent Secretary issued a stern warning before the local government employee examination across five regional test centers in five regions, vowing to block all exam fraud and urging candidates not to fall for broker scams claiming to sell positions. Nirat Pongsitthawatr, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior and acting director of the Department of Local Administration, announced on July 21 that on July 26 the department will hold a local government employee examination for administrative positions across five test centers in five regions: Chiang Mai, Udon Thani-Khon Kaen, Pathum Thani, Chon Buri, and Nakhon Si Thammarat, with 37,359 candidates registered. Thammasat University will oversee the examination. The Department of Local Administration will enforce the strictest anti-fraud measures and asked all candidates to have confidence in their own abilities and never believe, pay, or engage in any score-buying schemes—anyone approached will be defrauded 100%. Those who encounter or are approached by anyone attempting to facilitate or commit fraud should immediately report evidence to the Department of Local Administration at the Local Ombudsman Center (02-2419014), the Royal Thai Police, or the National Anti-Corruption Commission, with assurance that all information provided will be kept strictly confidential.

The Thai Cabinet has approved enhanced tax incentives to support social enterprises (SE), expanding tax deduction rights to both individuals and juristic persons through the e-Donation system and doubling deduction benefits for donations to social enterprise promotion funds. The measure aims to encourage private sector and public participation in supporting social enterprises that address social and environmental problems, develop communities, and create employment for vulnerable groups.

On July 21, Deputy Government Spokesperson Lalida Periwattana revealed that the Cabinet approved a draft royal decree amending the Revenue Code to extend and increase tax benefits for social enterprise supporters through the Revenue Department's e-Donation system, while easing criteria for accessing these benefits.

The measure targets ongoing public and business support for social enterprises, enabling them to tackle social and environmental issues, develop communities, and create more jobs for vulnerable groups. Key provisions include extending tax deduction rights for donations to social enterprises to cover both individuals and juristic persons at a 1x deduction rate via e-Donation from January 1, 2567 onwards with no end date, replacing the previous restriction to juristic persons only until December 31, 2566. Additionally, donations to social enterprise promotion funds will receive a doubled 2x deduction from January 1, 2567 to December 31, 2571. Tax exemptions for income tax, VAT, specific business tax, and stamp duty on property transfers to social enterprises are extended indefinitely from January 1, 2567. The draft also relaxes registration procedures with flexible timelines to help entrepreneurs access benefits more easily.

The Deputy Spokesperson noted that social enterprises currently employ over 11,500 people, including more than 6,600 from vulnerable groups. This tax measure provides additional incentive for the private sector and public to support social enterprises, facilitating business expansion and employment opportunities. The government views the improvement as crucial to sustained social enterprise development, vulnerable group employment, and community development aligned with UN sustainable development goals.

On July 21, 2569, Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Suriya Jungrungruangkit revealed that the King has named the newly discovered golden amethyst trumpet vine "Pimollaksana" (pronounced pim-mon-lak), a name carrying the auspicious meaning of "pure and beautiful characteristics." The designation honors Queen Suthida Bajrasudha on the occasion of her fourth cycle birthday celebration on June 3, 2569, and demonstrates the kingdom's loyalty and reverence.

The new plant variety was discovered by the Highland Research and Development Institute at the Royal Agricultural Station Angkhang in Chiang Mai, and its flowers display notably distinct characteristics from the original species. The Department of Agriculture formally registered the variety on April 17, 2568, and the Plant Variety Protection Committee has approved it for protection under the Plant Variety Protection Act of 2542.

Minister Suriya emphasized that this discovery represents a significant botanical achievement reflecting Thailand's research capabilities and the rich biodiversity of Thai plant species. All Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives personnel expressed deep gratitude for the honor of having this new trumpet vine variety named with such an auspicious and meaningful designation.

On July 21, government spokesperson Ratchada Thanadirek announced a cabinet resolution in which Prime Minister Anuthins Chanyaveerakul, also serving as Interior Minister, called for a review of state welfare card eligibility criteria. He noted that public feedback reveals many people in genuine hardship are being excluded from the program—such as those who own vehicles no longer roadworthy but still registered in their names, or students working to improve their circumstances whose actual living conditions are not reflected in current criteria.

The PM stressed that citizens should not have to come to the government seeking help; instead, state agencies must proactively reach out, survey local communities, and solve problems on the ground so that deserving people do not fall through the cracks. The Interior Ministry has been tasked with working alongside provincial governors and local units to survey those currently filtered out but who genuinely merit assistance, and to submit findings to the Finance Ministry for swift review.

The Land Transport Department must urgently update vehicle registration records and reduce the burden on citizens seeking to cancel or deregister defunct vehicles, while also proposing legal or regulatory fixes to obstacles in the process. The Finance Ministry has been ordered to quickly review eligibility screening criteria to align with actual hardship conditions and identify rules that may wrongly exclude qualified people, then propose improvements to cabinet.

Authorities are issuing warrants for 11 local government officials involved in a civil service examination fraud scheme, with the investigation now expanding to implicate two senior administrators. On July 21, 2026, the National Anti-Corruption Commission met with Crime Suppression Division commander Pol. Lt. Gen. Patthana Bupphasuwan and his team at the agency's Suvarnabhumi office in Nonthaburi to discuss the warrants for officials identified during raids on illegal test-tampering sites in the province. According to reports, a suspect named Win, an adviser at a major university, indicated during questioning that university and government officials higher up the chain had ordered and orchestrated the examination fraud scheme. Police Lieutenant General Natthasak Chaowasat has instructed Patthana and the suppression team to expedite evidence collection against the implicated figures, with two proposed approaches: either having Crime Suppression Division investigators gather evidence to request arrest warrants from the court, or transferring all evidence to National Anti-Corruption Commission officers to pursue warrants under anti-corruption law. Last week, investigators also questioned Dr. Rueangdej Sirikij, director of the Educational Testing and Psychology Center at Srinakharinwirot University, and Phonmtian Sengwan, director of the Local Personnel Division at the Local Government Promotion Department. The investigation team declined to release further details, stating that all statements and evidence must be consolidated before proceeding with legal action.