TLDRs;
- Thailand bans links in all government SMS and email to curb rising impersonation scams targeting citizens.
- Policy expands earlier no-link rule for banks, aiming to block common phishing pathways used by fraud rings.
- Regulators still lack breakdowns of cybercrime losses by channel, leaving impact of link ban uncertain.
- Telecom and CPaaS providers now building tools to help public agencies comply with strict message-security rules.
Thailand has introduced a sweeping new rule that bars state agencies from sending SMS or email messages containing clickable links, a move aimed squarely at disrupting one of the most common techniques used by online scammers.
The Cabinet-approved measure, announced by Digital Economy and Society Minister Chaichanok Chidchob, is the country’s latest attempt to reduce impersonation scams that have surged across digital communication channels.
The policy instructs all government departments to eliminate embedded links from their outbound messages immediately. Citizens receiving any linked SMS or email purporting to be from a state agency are now urged to assume it is fraudulent and report it to authorities.
The decision builds on a similar restriction introduced by the Bank of Thailand in July 2025, which banned financial institutions from including hyperlinks in customer communications. That earlier rule was motivated by a rising wave of “spoofed-bank” text messages that tricked individuals into revealing personal and financial information. With scammers rapidly shifting toward impersonating government bodies, the Cabinet has now extended the no-link policy across the public sector.
Government Tightens Digital Messaging Rules
Authorities say the link ban aims to close off pathways that cybercriminals frequently exploit. Fake messages mimicking state agencies, such as tax departments, civil registries, or law-enforcement units—have become increasingly convincing.
By removing links entirely, officials hope to cut down the frequency of fraudulent clicks, especially among individuals unfamiliar with cyber-risk indicators.
Regulators emphasized that citizens should rely only on official government websites or verified mobile apps for any urgent requests or identity verification processes.
“If a link appears in a message claiming to be from us, it is not from us,” Minister Chaichanok said during the announcement.
New Standards for Bulk Senders
Thailand’s telecom regulator, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), is reinforcing the policy with additional measures targeting companies that send messages in high volumes.
Bulk SMS providers must now register sender names, verify their identity, and submit message templates before distribution.
Telecom operators are also required to filter international traffic through SMS firewalls, flag suspicious international routes, and monitor for spoofed sender IDs. These steps follow complaints that scams were increasingly routed through overseas networks using SIM boxes, devices that hide message origins by masking them as local traffic.
Cybercrime Losses Still Opaque
While the new restrictions mark a clear escalation in the fight against digital fraud, substantial data gaps remain. Regulators have not provided a detailed breakdown of how Thailand’s 89 billion baht in reported cybercrime losses from March 2022 to April 2025 were distributed across channels such as SMS, email, social platforms, or messaging apps.
Investment-related scams alone cost victims more than 10.2 billion baht through September 2024. Yet authorities have not identified how many of those cases involved a malicious link versus other methods like voice manipulation, social engineering, or hybrid attacks combining calls and messaging.
Tech Firms Prepare Compliance Tools
The shift is expected to reshape how enterprises and government bodies communicate with the public. Communications Platform-as-a-Service (CPaaS) providers are already developing tools that allow organizations to manage link-free templates, register sender IDs, and verify outbound communications in line with NBTC standards. Email security firms are rolling out systems that strip links before delivery to Thai government users.
Upcoming requirements for SIM box registration and enhanced firewall filtering may also open opportunities for fraud-detection vendors specializing in real-time message scanning and origin verification, without disrupting critical services like one-time passwords and transaction alerts.
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