Thailand’s Ministry of Digital Economy and Society issued a year-end advisory identifying four scam trends expected to intensify in 2026: smishing, AI-powered deepfakes, bogus crypto/digital-stock schemes, and fake social-app profiles. The alert urges the public to exercise caution with unsolicited links, investment pitches and requests for one-time passwords.

The Ministry of Digital Economy and Society in Thailand published a year-end warning outlining four key scam trends authorities expect to escalate in 2026: smishing via SMS/LINE messages, AI-driven deepfake voice and video impersonations, fraudulent cryptocurrency and digital-stock investment schemes, and fake social-app profiles used for romance or marketplace fraud. The advisory emphasised that attackers will increasingly combine social engineering with generative AI to produce convincing audio, video and text that can impersonate trusted contacts and officials. Officials urged heightened public vigilance around unsolicited links, unexpected investment solicitations, and any requests for one-time passwords or transfers to unfamiliar accounts. The ministry recommended validating unexpected communications through independent channels, avoiding sharing OTPs, using official portals for financial transactions, and reporting suspicious messages to authorities. The bulletin reflects regional preparedness efforts and a recognition that technological advances lower the cost and raise the realism of scams, prompting proactive outreach to minimize harm to consumers and to strengthen detection and reporting mechanisms.