The government wants Thai banks to ask customers that have had facial plastic surgery to get new ID cards with photos that actually match their current appearance so there is no confusion when they go to the bank or other institutions and need to prove who they are.
Alternately, they can also get a doctor’s certificate to verify that they have undergone facial surgery to explain why they look nothing like their ID. The order came from the Bank of Thailand (BOT), the country’s national banking bureau, reported Thai PBS.
One BOT director, Yongsak Seanglaw, said yesterday that banks need to tighten their internal systems of ID checks to verify that new bank accounts aren’t opened by criminals or people posing as others. He also noted that, moving forward, banks would be accountable for damage done, both criminal and financial, if fake accounts are opened and used.
The BOT’s warning came after Nicha Kiatthanapaibul, 24, alleged that her missing ID was used by a gang of love scammers to open nine bank accounts at seven banks for the purposes of receiving funds from their victims. When the scam came to light and Nicha’s name was on the accounts, she was arrested and spent three days in jail. She is still trying to clear her name and it is unclear if she actually played a role in the scam.
Since plastic surgery is very popular in Thailand, the government’s request makes sense. Many Thais alter their appearance, from face size, shape and structure, to skin-whitening, to various injections.
Read more about the Thai plastic surgery craze here:
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