Warning about scams happening in Vietnam's cyberspace

There are 3 main groups of scams (brand counterfeiting, account hijacking and other combined forms) with 24 forms of scams taking place in Vietnam's cyberspace, targeting the following groups of people: The elderly with 15 regular scams; children with 3 forms of online lures; students/youth with 13 forms; workers/laborers, office workers lured with 19 forms of scams, etc.

One of the main causes of this situation is determined to come from users' awareness. In addition to technical solutions, the Department of Information Security recognizes that propaganda, dissemination, and awareness raising to equip each individual with basic knowledge and skills to ensure information security in cyberspace is a key factor in creating a safe Vietnamese cyberspace, contributing to accelerating the digital transformation process and developing a sustainable digital economic and social infrastructure.

Warning of fraud occurring in Vietnam's cyberspace, image 1 — In the first 6 months of 2023, online fraud in Vietnam increased by 64.78% compared to the same period last year. (Photo: Department of Information Security)

In order to raise awareness and knowledge about online fraud and protect Vietnamese people from potential risks in cyberspace, on June 23, the Ministry of Information and Communications officially launched the Campaign "Action Month to propagate and identify online fraud" under the chairmanship and coordination of the Department of Information Security.

The campaign "Action month to propagate and identify online fraud" will be deployed from June 23 to July 23, 2023, chaired by the Department of Information Security, in coordination with members of the Propaganda Alliance to raise awareness and skills to ensure information security for people in cyberspace.

The campaign was deployed on a large scale, raising awareness among people through clips of common online scam situations, tips on how to identify 24 forms of scams, and providing a handbook of knowledge to prevent and protect yourself and your family in cyberspace.

Responding to the Action Month of propaganda on identifying and preventing online fraud, the Department of Information Security hopes that units and press agencies will coordinate to participate in producing a series of articles, videos , reports and content on media platforms to spread the message widely to all Vietnamese people.

The Information Security Department will provide the Handbook "Identifying and preventing online fraud" as content production material for units.

The handbook "Identifying and preventing online fraud" recommends and specifies common forms, methods, and groups of subjects that use and commit fraud, such as: "Cheap travel combo" fraud; Deepfake video call fraud; "SIM lock" fraud due to unstandardized subscribers; forged receipts of successful money transfers; impersonating teachers/medical staff to report that relatives are in emergency care; scams to recruit child models; scams to recruit child models; spreading fake branded messages (SMS Brandname)...

Furthermore, the document also helps network users to act quickly if they have been scammed such as: Do not continue to send money and block all communications from the scammer; immediately contact your bank and financial institution to report the scam and ask them to stop all transactions; collect and save evidence, file a complaint and send it to the local police station...

Hoang Anh

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