Thailand threatens Facebook over crypto scams and other fraudulent ads

August 22, 2023 Coin Telegraph

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Thailand’s digital minister said he would seek a court order to shut Facebook in the country unless it takes action on the alleged scams.

Thailand is planning to seek a court-issued shutdown order against Facebook unless it takes steps to deal with alleged investment and crypto scam ads on its platform.

On Aug. 21, the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES) stated over 200,000 people had been duped by Facebook ads that touted crypto scams, investing in fake businesses and faked government agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Popular tactics used by the scammers included crypto investment and trading scams, MDES claimed. Some ads also allegedly used images of celebrities and well-known financial figures along with promises of up to 30% daily returns to lure people into the schemes.

MDES Minister Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn said the ministry had been in talks with and sent a letter to the Meta-owned platform over the issue but claimed it's failing to screen advertisers.

*Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn at an Aug. 21 press conference regarding the ministry’s planned court action against Facebook. Source: MDES*

The ministry is currently gathering evidence of the scam ads which it said numbered over 5,300 — at the end of the month, it’s ready to ask a court to shut down Facebook within seven days.

The ministry warned on how such scams typically operate saying consumers should be wary of promises of high and guaranteed returns along with ads using images of well-known figures.

Investments that pressure or give incentives to quickly invest with limited offers should also be approached with caution as well as businesses or platforms with no verifiable information.

Cointelegraph contacted Meta but did not immediately receive a response.

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Floki Inu resumes controversial ad blitz in London

April 26, 2022 Coin Telegraph

bus ads

The new campaign spanning buses and train stations across the city comes only a few weeks after regulators banned the previous ads from a marketing run Floki Inu conducted in 2021.

Dogecoin rival Floki Inu has begun what it calls an “aggressive” marketing campaign in London, plastering advertisements around the city’s train stations and on its famous red buses.

Floki Inu announced the new campaign in an April 23 blog noting that “the people’s cryptocurrency” will start advertising on the side of 100 buses and on 203 posters in the city’s underground train stations starting from Monday April 25.

#FLOKI's new and aggressive London campaign will start tomorrow Monday, April 25.$FLOKI to be featured on:

- 100 buses across the streets of London.
- 203 strategic placements across London Underground.

These ads will be seen tens of millions of times!

Get ready for impact! pic.twitter.com/hBanvs8eu2
— FLOKI (@RealFlokiInu) April 24, 2022

The new campaign for the memecoin comes after a similar marketing blitz late in 2021 which caused a stir with London assembly member Sian Berry, who sought to ban all cryptocurrency advertisements on the city's rail and bus networks.

Floki Inu’s last campaign featured signs which read “Missed Doge? Get Floki.” In November, Berry posted a tweet likening cryptocurrencies to gambling, adding that public services should not advertise “risky” schemes.

Like gambling ads, which we have finally got the Mayor to remove, there is no way our public services should be used to advertise these unregulated, risky schemes to Londoners. I asked for a ban in July and I am still pushing.

https://t.co/i7EBxfbGrV
— Sian Berry (@sianberry) November 14, 2021

The campaign received so much negative attention that the UK’s Advertising and Standards Authority (ASA) intervened, banning the ad in a ruling on March 2 as it “exploited consumers' fears of missing out, trivialized investment in cryptocurrency and took advantage of consumers’ inexperience.”

However, Sabre, the pseudonymous moniker for Floki Inu’s Director of Marketing emphasized in the announcement that the team has no intentions of standing down despite the regulatory push back:

“In a sense this second London campaign is an even bigger win for Floki and the crypto industry as a whole than the first, as our team has fought for the right to advertise our groundbreaking project to the public.”

"Some wanted us banned here entirely, and the anti-crypto agenda continues to come thick and fast through smear campaigns and misinformation. The Floki Team will always stand our ground no matter what," they added.

Earlier this year in January, the ASA continued with a raft of bans on crypto firms advertising in the UK. The regulator halted two advertisements from Crypto.com which promoted the ease of purchasing Bitcoin and earning yield rewards as they did not state the risk of the investment.

In mid-December 2021, six crypto firms were hit with ad bans by the ASA for “taking advantage of consumers’ inexperience” and also failing to demonstrate the risk of crypto investing.

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