Ahead of the Songkran festival, Thailand’s traditional New Year and a time for family connection, Google today announced the expansion of its online safety programs as part of its annual Safer Songkran initiative.
As cyber threats grow increasingly sophisticated and often peak during major holiday seasons, Google’s latest initiatives focus on three key pillars: Empowering Thais through digital literacy, Creating a secure app ecosystem, and Fostering innovation for digital trust. These efforts reflect Google’s ongoing commitment to ensuring that Thais can navigate the digital world safely and confidently.
Empowering Thais through digital literacy
To help address the growing complexity of online threats, Google, in partnership with the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES), the Thailand Banking Sector Computer Emergency Response Team (TB-CERT) under the Thai Bankers Association and True, has launched Be Scam Ready, an interactive, game-based learning experience designed to help Thai users better identify and protect themselves against online scams.
Be Scam Ready exposes users to simulated, common manipulation tactics such as “false urgency” or “appeals to authority” in a safe gaming environment. This helps strengthen users’ ability to recognize threats , as demonstrated in a 3,000-user randomized controlled trial in India where users who played the game for 10-15 minutes were significantly better at spotting scams compared to those who watched general awareness videos, and this effect lasted for up to 21 days.
To amplify the impact of this launch, ASEAN Foundation will partner with ASEAN Youth Organisation Thailand and Kenan Foundation to deliver this critical learning tool to 400,000 people nationwide. This localised effort is part of the Scam Ready ASEAN initiative, led by ASEAN Foundation with US$5 million funding from Google.org, to expand online scam prevention resources across Southeast Asia.
Patchara Anuntasilpa, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES), said, “We are committed to enhancing digital literacy among Thai people, alongside strengthening resilience against increasingly sophisticated online threats. Today, technology has become an integral part of daily life, across images, audio, and video, yet it can also be exploited by cybercriminals. Our continued collaboration between the Ministry and Google Thailand, particularly through the ‘Be Scam Ready’ initiative, serves as a key mechanism in raising public awareness and equipping people with the skills to protect themselves online. This will empower Thais to navigate the digital world with confidence, safety, and greater awareness of emerging threats.”
Built-in protections across Google products
Google continues to strengthen built-in security and user protection across its products, including the Android and Google Play ecosystems.
To help users spot these telltale signs of deception, Google has added new AI-powered capabilities to Circle to Search and Google Lens. Android users can simply long press their home button or navigation bar and circle suspicious text using Circle to Search, while both Android and iOS users can take a screenshot and tap it within Google Lens. Google’s systems will then use AI and web information to assess the message and instantly provide an overview with guidance, insights, and suggested next steps to avoid being deceived.
Additionally, Google’s enhanced fraud protection within Google Play Protect has actively defended Thai users over the past year. In Thailand, the feature has blocked over 10M risky install attempts of more than 103K unique, high-risk apps since launched in partnership with MDES during Safer Songkran in 2024.
Google is also adding a new layer of security for certified Android devices with Android Developer Verification, which will require all developers in Thailand that share apps on Android, both on Google Play and beyond, to register and verify their identity with Google starting in September 2026. This builds on the success of existing verification on the Play Store, which has been critical in stopping bad actors from exploiting anonymity to distribute malware repeatedly and commit fraud.
Dr. Kitti Kosavisutte, Chairman, Thailand Banking Sector Computer Emergency Response Team (TB-CERT), said, “As the central coordinating body for cybersecurity collaboration across Thailand’s commercial banking sector, TB-CERT places strong emphasis on strengthening the resilience of the financial system, alongside enhancing public awareness and digital literacy, particularly among vulnerable groups who are often targeted by cybercriminals. Amid increasingly sophisticated and evolving financial threats, the collaboration between TB-CERT, Google Thailand, and key stakeholders represents not only a critical step in building public resilience against scams, but enhanced security measures such as blocking the installation of risky apps and the upcoming verification for Android app developers also serve as a model for cross-sector partnership. Together, we aim to strengthen Thailand’s financial security framework and reduce the risk of fraud in a sustainable and impactful way.”
Fostering innovation for digital trust
Recognizing that combating scams requires homegrown innovation and fresh perspectives, Google has partnered with MDES, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CIB), and the ASEAN Foundation to launch the Securing Digital Trust: Thailand Anti-Scam Ideathon 2026 in March. Against a national landscape where 60% of Thai adults have encountered digital fraud, this initiative challenges university students to leverage Google’s AI ecosystem such as Vertex AI and the Gemini API to develop digital shields against different types of scams. By tappingThailand’s youth, the program aims to develop highly localized, tech-driven campaigns and tools that resonate with the public and strengthen the country’s digital defenses.
Taking the top prize was ThunderPermanent, a team of students from King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL) with their concept, ‘Luxurer’. The platform leverages AI to detect the emotional language and conversational patterns commonly found in romance scams, delivering real-time risk scores and contextual explanations to users directly through their social media channels. As the new Youth Ambassadors for Digital Safety, the team has secured an exclusive invitation to the Fraud Summit in Kuala Lumpur in April 2026. This opportunity allows them to showcase their work and represent the next generation of cybersecurity leaders on an international stage.
Rafael Scislowski, Country Manager, Google Thailand, said, “Google has long been committed to the online safety of Thai people, an essential part of our commitment to leave no Thai behind. As we increasingly rely on the internet, it is more important than ever to be aware of rising threats and take action against bad actors. Today, our partnership with the governments marks a significant step forward in our shared mission. By launching the Be Scam Ready program, continuously investing in a secure app ecosystem, and fostering homegrown innovation to build lasting digital trust, we are empowering Thai society to tackle online harm. This deep collaboration with like-minded partners is essential as we create a better, safer online world for all.”
These ongoing efforts reflect Google’s commitment to Leave no Thai behind and empower Thais with the tools, knowledge and confidence to navigate the digital world safely and securely. By prioritizing secure by default, privacy by design, and putting users in control, Google strives to create a thriving online ecosystem where innovation and safety go hand-in-hand. To learn more about how Google keeps people safe every day, please visit https://safety.google.
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