Thai Regulator Battles Deceptive Crypto Ads

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Thailand is taking steps to protect crypto investors from misleading advertisements. On April 29, the Thai SEC issued a warning to all operating crypto exchanges, urging them to comply with advertising standards and refrain from glamorizing crypto investments. The Deputy Secretary-General of the SEC, Anek Yooyuen, expressed concern about exchanges offering special privileges to attract users. According to Yooyuen, ads that contain false or misleading information violate Thailand’s regulations.

Similar measures have been taken by regulators in other crypto markets to minimize losses from investments. The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) issued 450 alerts for illegal crypto ads in 2023, while Spain’s National Stock Market Commission (CNMV) called out fraudulent crypto asset promos and reminded companies to comply with laws. In line with these efforts, the Thai SEC reminded crypto exchanges to include appropriate warnings about investment risks and avoid enticing new users with special promotions.

The SEC’s advertisement guidelines aim to protect investors from unwarranted risks. Yooyuen emphasized that offering rewards to entice people to use a service without considering the investment risks, especially with cryptocurrencies, is a concern. Violating these guidelines will result in punishment according to the law. To comply with Thai advertising regulations, businesses and advertisers are required to substantiate the “facts” presented in their campaigns.

Recently, hackers exploited advertisements on Etherscan, a popular blockchain explorer, redirecting users to phishing sites to drain their crypto wallets. Scam Sniffer, a blockchain investigating firm, attributed the large-scale phishing campaign to a lack of oversight by advertisement aggregators. Etherscan aggregates ads from platforms like Coinzilla and Persona, where insufficient filtering could expose users to phishing attempts. The scam involves luring users to fake websites and persuading them to link their crypto wallets, allowing scammers to withdraw funds without user authentication or permission.