The Digital Economy and Society (DES) Ministry and related state authorities set a deadline for mobile phone SIM card owners that do not have matching names with their mobile banking accounts to update their information and match the pair by April 30, or their mobile banking accounts will be temporarily suspended.
If suspended, people can still make financial transactions via traditional channels.
The DES Ministry and related parties kicked off stricter measures on Friday to crack down on mule accounts and suppress online theft.
The collaboration includes the Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo), the Office of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), the Bank of Thailand, the Thai Bankers' Association, and the Telecommunications Association of Thailand.
DES Minister Prasert Jantararuangtong said more than 2 million SIM cards have owners' names that do not match their mobile banking accounts, according to telecom operators, and they must correct this information before the deadline.
This group includes some SIM cards where telecom operators did not find any owners' names. This segment also has to update its information before the deadline, he said.
For the first phase, the authorities are focused on these 2 million unmatched numbers.
"These 2 million numbers registered from January 2022 could be part of the reason why mule accounts are increasing," said Mr Prasert.
He said authorities expect this measure to sharply reduce mule accounts by the end of 2025.
The related parties inspected more than 120 million phone numbers by the end of November 2024 and divided them into three groups.
The first group is referred to as M (names on SIM cards and mobile banking accounts match), totalling 75.8 million numbers or 63.0%.
The second group is called N (names on SIM cards and mobile banking accounts are unmatched), tallying 30.9 million numbers or 25.7%.
The third group is dubbed P (there is no name or information for the SIM card owner), totalling 13.5 million numbers or 11.3%.
Banks are expected to notify mobile banking users in categories N and P via mobile banking channels by Feb 1 to update their information.
"There will be no notifications via other channels to thwart fraudsters," said Mr Prasert.
Users must update the SIM owner's name and mobile banking user name to match by April 30.
If the update is not completed by the deadline, Amlo, the central bank and NBTC will consider temporarily suspending their mobile banking accounts.
For people who do not receive mobile banking notifications, no action is required and they can use mobile banking as usual, even if the name of the SIM card owner does not match the mobile banking account, according to the consortium.
The ministry and related agencies considered exempting certain groups for the recent measure, including mobile numbers registered under the names of government agencies or organisations that are being used by employees.
Some groups have specific needs or limitations, such as being unable to change their mobile numbers because of legal or document restrictions.
