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Published on November 5, 2007

The Bank of Thailand on Friday warned credit-card holders and commercial banks' debtors not to disclose their personal information to strangers as the strangers could be bad people.

Tricksters these days seem to be hitting the nerves of non-performing credit-card holders. They make a random phone call to card debtors and tell them they are more in debt than they really are.

When the debtors hear that the outstanding loan is higher than what they thought, they sometimes panic, prompting them to follow the caller's instructions. The caller usually suggests that the debtors give them a few account details, opening the chance for the bad guys to access some important information.

Some have been advised to change their ATM numbers, while the crook jots down the details, preparing to pounce on the account later. We therefore state the obvious again - don't panic and don't give your details to strangers, even if they claim to be calling from the Bank of Thailand. Tarisa Watanagase, the central bank's governor, wouldn't have time to be a debt collector for private banks and neither would her staff.

Of course, who could blame debtors for being in a panic? - it must be a dreadful situation to fall into. Defaults on debt payments have increased considerably lately, suggesting a decline in people's ability to repay.

The Government Housing Bank said recently it would strictly monitor the level of defaults. If the bank finds debtors defaulting on payments by 45 days or more, it will issue a gentle reminder by letter.

If there is no reply within seven days, the bank said it would make a phone call to ask politely about the debtor's health and his or her intentions.

So here comes lesson No 2 for defaulting debtors. It's a good idea to calculate the default date correctly. It you get that phone call 52 days after the default, it probably is your bank calling for real.

Busdsk@nationgroup.com