Bangkok: The Police Inspector General has initiated a collaborative effort with representatives from 10 countries and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to tackle the growing issue of call center scams and human trafficking. This international alliance was officially launched through a meeting held at the International Anti-Scam and Human Trafficking Syndicate Command Center’s war room, aimed at enhancing global cooperation and intelligence sharing.
According to Thai News Agency, Pol. Gen. Thatchai Pitaneelabutr, Inspector General of the Royal Thai Police and incident commander of the International Anti-Scam and Human Trafficking Syndicate Command Center (IAC), spearheaded the meeting. He was joined by Pol. Maj. Gen. Pongsayam Meekhanthong, Deputy Commander of the Tourist Police, and diplomats from Bangladesh, Japan, Laos, Myanmar, South Africa, South Korea, the United Kingdom, the United States, Vietnam, Singapore, along with representatives from UNODC. The focus of the discussions was on preparing for joint operations to suppress call center gangs through the IAC War Room initiative.
Pol. Gen. Thatchai emphasized the government’s directive to dismantle call center networks within three months, highlighting the significance of international cooperation. The establishment of the IAC War Room at the Royal Thai Police Headquarters is a strategic move to facilitate the rapid exchange of critical information and strategies needed to combat these criminal networks on a global scale. The war room is expected to significantly enhance the effectiveness of operations against call center scams by enabling a coordinated and comprehensive approach.
At 10:00 a.m., Pol. Gen. Thatchai tasked Pol. Maj. Gen. Atthasit Sudsongwan, Deputy Commander of the Technology Crime Suppression Division, with organizing a preparatory meeting for IAC war room coordinators. This meeting included participants from various agencies such as the Technology Crime Suppression Division, Central Investigation Bureau, Immigration Bureau, and Provincial Police Region 2. Other key stakeholders included representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, Bank of Thailand, National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), Securities and Exchange Commission, National Cyber Security Agency, Personal Data Protection Committee, and the Anti-Money Laundering Office.
The IAC war room’s strategy involves intensifying and unifying operations to combat financial crimes associated with call center scams. This includes accelerating data collection for financial analysis, immediate seizure of financial assets, and analyzing IP addresses to pinpoint crime locations. Additionally, it involves suspending suspicious phone numbers and internet services, analyzing fraud networks, and implementing preventative measures. The war room will also enable the immediate shutdown of fraudulent platforms and pages, while preventing data breaches to ensure the successful suppression of call center gangs and human trafficking within the targeted timeframe.