Thailand passport: beware of fraudulent emails
Created: 03/22/2022, 11:15 am
By: Franziska Kaindl
Holidays in Thailand are only possible with the Thailand Passport.
But here you should be careful.
© Stefan Laws/Imago
If you want to travel to Thailand, you currently need a Thailand passport.
However, criminals have hacked the databases and are sending out phishing emails.
Due to the corona pandemic, the Thai government has introduced the Thailand passport for travelers.
This brings together a number of documents, including the passport and proof of full vaccination.
In order to receive the Thailand passport in good time before entry, it must be applied for at least one week in advance.
The process is not only complicated, but also – as it seems – not entirely secure: there have been reports of
phishing emails
for a few weeks that are intended to steal travellers’ data.
With these scams scammers try to get the data of Thailand travelers
The
Thailand passport databases are said to have been hacked
, according to blog
loyaltylobby.com
.
Applicants would therefore receive
dubious emails
asking them to download a document or scan a QR code.
Travelers should
under no circumstances click on these attachments
, but ignore and delete the mails.
According to loyaltylobby.com
, vacationers receive another variant
an e-mail indicating alleged problems with the application.
Users are asked to provide their full name, date of birth and the last four digits of their passport.
However, those affected are not addressed by their name but by their e-mail address.
Travelers should not react to this message either.
Thai authorities warn of phishing emails: How to recognize what is fake
According to loyaltylobby.com
, it is no surprise
that the databases of the Thailand passport are easy prey for hacker attacks .
As a result, it is common in Thailand for employees of government institutions to use normal Gmail or Hotmail accounts or take photos of confidential documents with their private smartphones.
On the official website of the Thailand passport, users are now
warned of fake or scam e-mails that
applicants are confronted with.
The Thai government advises that e-mails regarding the Thailand passport can only be sent from the official e-mail address
thpass@tp.consular.go.th
be shipped.
The system would not ask for any personal information, nor would it ask the user to adjust the application via email.
Registration would only take place via the Thailand Passport website (https://tp.consular.go.th/).
(fk)
