Banks in Thailand are implementing a daily limit of 50,000 baht ($1,537) on online transfers to combat financial fraud, especially targeting vulnerable customers such as children and older individuals. This move is in response to the rampant online scam industry, particularly active in Southeast Asia. The new measure aims to prevent criminals from transferring large sums at once and allows for the freezing of illicit funds to aid in the recovery process for victims. The limit will be based on the customer’s risk profile and know-your-customer rules, with exceptions for responsible customers. The initiative will be fully implemented by the end of the year.

Thailand saw 24,500 scam cases related to money transfers in June alone, resulting in total losses of 2.8 billion baht ($86.1 million). On average, scammers took only three minutes to steal half of the funds, while victims took much longer to report the crime. Children under 15 and individuals over 65 were the most common targets of financial scams in the first half of this year.

Read more at Yahoo Finance: Thailand requires banks to cap most online transfers at $1,500 daily to thwart scammers