Thailand has opened a two-day international conference in Bangkok, aimed at building a coordinated global response to online scams and placing a regional spotlight on a platform that Thai officials have described as a fast-moving, borderless threat to citizens, businesses, and governments alike.

The International Conference on Global Partnership Against Online Scams, running from December 17th to 18th, has brought together government agencies, diplomats, and enforcement bodies to align policies, share intelligence, and strengthen cross-border cooperation against cyber-enabled fraud.

Expanding the scope of the ASEAN proposal

The conference, co-hosted by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), traces its origins to Thailand’s proposal at the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur, where Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul declared the fight against online scams an urgent national mission and urged broader international cooperation.

Warning that the issue had become a “severe crisis,” Vice Foreign Minister Vijavat Isarabhakdi told diplomats ahead of the event that the complexity and transnational nature of cybercrime meant no single country could fight it alone. He further noted that Thailand’s own experience with scam networks operating across borders underscored the need for a shared framework, rather than isolated national efforts.

Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that the Bangkok gathering is intended to maintain the momentum already built under ASEAN and other international mechanisms, while expanding the scope to a truly global partnership.

Reforms bring accountability, enforcement, restitution

Thailand’s push onto the international stage comes following major domestic legal reform earlier this year. In April, authorities amended the Emergency Decree on Measures for the Prevention and Suppression of Technological Crimes, tightening penalties and accelerating enforcement.

The reforms include harsher punishments for “mule accounts,” mandatory SMS filtering by telecom providers, and fast-track powers for the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) to freeze suspicious accounts and return recovered funds to victims without waiting for court orders.

Banks, telecom firms, and digital platforms can now also face joint liability if they fail to meet mandated cybersecurity standards.

Thailand’s one-stop response model

Delegates are also expected to examine the Kingdom’s Anti-Online Scam Operation Center (AOC 1441), which is touted as a model for rapid, integrated responses to digital fraud.

Operating as a one-stop service under the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, AOC 1441 coordinates banks, police, regulators, and anti-money laundering officials through a single hotline. According to official figures, the center handled over 1.4 million reports between November 2024 and January 2025, suspending more than 340,000 criminal accounts and preventing nearly THB22 billion (US$697 million) in losses.

By combining real-time reporting, account suspensions, and data analysis, the system has sharply reduced response times and limited the ability of criminal networks to move stolen funds.

A test of regional and global resolve

The conference has yielded the 2025 Bangkok Joint Statement by the Global Partnership against Online Scams, endorsed by members of the Global Partnership against Online Scams, consisting of Thailand, Bangladesh, Nepal, Peru, and the United Arab Emirates, as well as the private-sector partners including TikTok. The Joint statement sets out commitments for good governance, law enforcement, victim protection, and cross-border partnerships.

Going forward, attention is likely to turn from broad statements of intent to the practical challenge of sustaining cooperation through information-sharing, joint investigations, coordinated enforcement, and practical mechanisms for disrupting scam networks across borders as criminals continually adapt their operations.

With online fraud continuing to evolve faster than many legal systems can keep pace, Thailand is sending a clear message to participants that cooperation is no longer optional, but essential.

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