Despite high levels of cybercrime awareness among Thai consumers, mobile-device attacks have surged by 127% in the first quarter of 2026, highlighting the widening gap between awareness and evolving cyber threats, with regional trends showing similar increases in NFC-based assaults and authorities ramping up online security measures.
Thailand is facing a sharp rise in mobile-device attacks even as consumers in the country appear relatively alert to cyber risk. Kaspersky said its monitoring found attacks on Thai mobiles jumped 127% year on year in the first quarter of 2026, while Thai respondents recorded the highest cybercrime-awareness score among the Asia-Pacific markets surveyed, at 39%. The contrast suggests that awareness alone is not keeping pace with the speed at which mobile threats are evolving. Kaspersky also said smartphones have become the main gateway to banking, payments, shopping and communications, making them a more attractive target for criminals.
The Thai surge sat within a broader regional pattern. According to Kaspersky, Taiwan saw the fastest increase among the markets listed, at 373%, followed by Sri Lanka at 132%, Bangladesh at 108%, China at 69% and the Philippines at 28%. India and Indonesia still recorded the largest absolute attack volumes, but the sharp rises elsewhere show that mobile crime is no longer concentrated only in the region’s biggest digital economies. Choon Hong Chee, Kaspersky’s head of consumer channel for Asia-Pacific, said smartphones are often less protected than personal computers despite their role in users’ financial, social and work lives.
The threat picture is worsening in more specific ways too. TahawulTech reported that Kaspersky telemetry showed a 188% rise in NFC-based attacks on Android phones in the first four months of 2026, with 35,600 attacks blocked during that period. Those campaigns used malware families including SuperCard X, PhantomCard and NGate to steal funds through contactless payment techniques. Kaspersky said the trend had been expected, and that while Russia remains heavily targeted, users in Latin America and Europe are also facing similar attacks.
Thai authorities are also moving more quickly against digital threats. The Nation Thailand reported that the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society has accelerated the blocking of illegal online content, cutting response times from days to hours as scam-linked URLs have risen from tens of thousands to millions. Officials can now seek court orders more rapidly in urgent cases, and the ministry plans closer coordination with platforms and internet providers where the law allows direct removal. Kaspersky argues that longer-term protection should also be built into applications themselves, so banks, retailers and public services can secure sensitive transactions closer to the point of use rather than relying only on consumer-installed security tools.
Disclaimer: This content is intended for informational purposes only. Readers are advised to exercise their own judgement, conduct due diligence, or consult a qualified expert before acting on any information provided.
