The Thai Ministry of Digital Economy and Society has asked Facebook to remove crypto scams and ad fraud on its platform. If Facebook fails to comply, the Thai government said it would seek a court-approved shutdown of the social media platform.
Many online ads are shown to us because the information is suited to our needs. However, on some social media platforms, more often than not, the ads are neither randomly displayed nor coincidentally cater to our needs. They are shown to us due to artificial intelligence algorithms. Ad fraud is an example of this. Algorithms must be employed to fight against scams.
According to the US, the UK and Australia, ad fraud on social media has plagued many countries. In Europe and the US, these ads are crypto scams, whereas in Taiwan, they feature fake endorsements by celebrities due to the post-pandemic stock market boom. The names of Hsieh Chin-ho (謝金河), chairman of the Chinese-language Wealth Invest Weekly and Wealth magazines, TV host Daisy Chiu (邱沁宜) and independent investor Lee Chin-tu (李金土) have all been appropriated by scammers to commit fraud.
To curb these schemes, the Executive Yuan amended the Securities Investment Trust and Consulting Act (證券投資信託及顧問法) requiring a real-name registration system to regulate online investment ads. Social media platforms and Internet access service providers are also required to institute a mechanism through which ads can be examined beforehand and taken down afterward.
However, in practice, Internet platforms take a passive approach to complying with regulations, only removing fraudulent ads when they are notified by the police. As a result, the police have to work much harder to report online frauds. At the same time, scammers are constantly adjusting their tactics and developing new schemes to lure the public. They often utilize a hunger marketing strategy to attract and manipulate targets, demanding that they sign up as a VIP member within 24 hours. They also divide a long ad into 16 to 30 clips and display them extensively. The purpose is to entice as many people as possible to join their Line group, having them tempted little by little, and eventually swindling them.
Given that social media companies cannot regulate online scams and ad fraud in an effective way, the problem is left to the police to deal with. However, scammers have put up so many layers of smoke screen, it is hard for police to catch them. No wonder the Thai government took a harder approach and asked the court to shut down Facebook.
Adopting the four following measures could help get rid of investment fraud on social media platforms:
First, rather than simply waiting for a notification from the police, social media companies should take the initiative to uncover scams.
Second, on all social media platforms, sponsors and publishers of investment ads must be clearly identified and displayed.
Third, companies must cooperate with the police to track down those who post fraudulent investment ads.
Lastly, those who have been scammed and lost money should organize themselves and collectively claim compensation from the social media companies.
Transnational fraud rings have invested massively in spreading ad fraud. They have established various fake groups on social media platforms to influence people’s everyday lives. Fighting these scammers requires concrete strategies to regulate and govern social media.
Lin Shu-li is a doctoral student at Central Police University.
Translated by Emma Liu
To The Honorable Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜): We would like to extend our sincerest regards to you for representing Taiwan at the inauguration of US President Donald Trump on Monday. The Taiwanese-American community was delighted to see that Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan speaker not only received an invitation to attend the event, but successfully made the trip to the US. We sincerely hope that you took this rare opportunity to share Taiwan’s achievements in freedom, democracy and economic development with delegations from other countries. In recent years, Taiwan’s economic growth and world-leading technology industry have been a source of pride for Taiwanese-Americans.
Next week, the nation is to celebrate the Lunar New Year break. Unfortunately, cold winds are a-blowing, literally and figuratively. The Central Weather Administration has warned of an approaching cold air mass, while obstinate winds of chaos eddy around the Legislative Yuan. English theologian Thomas Fuller optimistically pointed out in 1650 that “it’s always darkest before the dawn.” We could paraphrase by saying the coldest days are just before the renewed hope of spring. However, one must temper any optimism about the damage being done in the legislature by the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), under
To our readers: Due to the Lunar New Year holiday, from Sunday, Jan. 26, through Sunday, Feb. 2, the Taipei Times will have a reduced format without our regular editorials and opinion pieces. From Tuesday to Saturday the paper will not be delivered to subscribers, but will be available for purchase at convenience stores. Subscribers will receive the editions they missed once normal distribution resumes on Sunday, Feb. 2. The paper returns to its usual format on Monday, Feb. 3, when our regular editorials and opinion pieces will also be resumed.
This year would mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the India Taipei Association (ITA) in Taipei and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center (TECC) in New Delhi. From the vision of “Look East” in the 1990s, India’s policy has evolved into a resolute “Act East,” which complements Taiwan’s “New Southbound Policy.” In these three decades, India and Taiwan have forged a rare partnership — one rooted in shared democratic values, a commitment to openness and pluralism, and clear complementarities in trade and technology. The government of India has rolled out the red carpet for Taiwanese investors with attractive financial incentives
RSS