Bangkok: "Jiraporn" orders the Consumer Protection Board to summon "OPPO-Realme" for urgent clarification on 14 Jan. after finding loan apps installed on devices. Ms. Jiraporn Sindhuphrai, Minister to the Prime Minister's Office, revealed that from the news on social media, many users of OPPO and Realme smartphones found that there was a loan application called "Happiness Loan" or "Fineasy" installed with the System App operating system, and the application could not be deleted from the device. In addition, the application can send notifications inviting people to borrow money and access personal information of users of the smartphone without having to request permission. This has caused the public as consumers to be concerned and at risk of using it. In the case of the loan application on the smartphone, an urgent order has been given to the Office of the Consumer Protection Board (OCPB) to investigate the facts and summon both smartphone operators to clarify the facts at the Office of the Consumer Protectio n Board (OCPB) on Tuesday, January 14, 2025, as well as inviting other mobile phone operators to clarify their management, prevention, and solutions that may arise from the use of mobile phone products.
According to Thai News Agency, the Office of the Consumer Protection Board (OCPB), as the agency responsible for protecting consumer rights, will collaborate with relevant agencies such as the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, the Bank of Thailand, the Personal Data Protection Committee, and the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) to consider measures to prevent and resolve the problem of consumer rights violations, so that consumers will be safe from using products or receiving services.
If any consumer has been damaged by such business operations, they can file a complaint with the Office of the Consumer Protection Board in person or via the online system https://complaint.ocpb.go.th/ or the OCPB Connect application https://ocpbconnect.ocpb.go.th/ or request advice at the hotline 1166.