Warning about fake recruitment scams to scam students

After the announcement of the high school graduation exam results, many students in Ho Chi Minh City received calls asking for university admission with sophisticated tricks. The subjects impersonated schools, admissions officers, and even police officers to request money transfers or personal information.

From “fact-checking” to college admissions fraud

In early August, Yen Nhi, a 12th grade student in Xuan Hoa Ward, while waiting to receive her provisional graduation certificate, received a call from an unknown number. The caller claimed to be from the “school’s application receiving unit” and asked to add her on Zalo to “verify information”. Believing that this was an official notification from the school, Nhi accepted the friend request.

Students need to improve their knowledge and vigilance against new scams.

However, after the subject requested a video call and asked to perform other authentication steps, Nhi felt something was wrong and turned off the phone and deleted the contact.

Similarly, Tra My, who had just graduated from grade 12, also received a call informing her that the school would send her application home. However, when she had to add Zalo friends and go through the verification steps, My realized the signs of fraud and stopped continuing.

According to a representative of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, many parents reported receiving calls impersonating the People's Committee, police, Department of Education and Training or admissions officers, asking students to make video calls and add Zalo friends to receive documents. The information provided by the scammers often matches the students' personal data, making it easy for victims to be fooled.

Not only stopping at “verifying information”, right after the 2025 high school graduation exam results were released, schools also recorded many cases of impersonating university admissions. Accordingly, Bui Thi Xuan High School and Le Quy Don High School issued urgent notices warning about scammers impersonating school or university staff, calling to inform that they “have been admitted” and requesting money transfers or citizen identification to “complete the admission application”.

Similarly, Ernst Thälmann High School (Ben Thanh Ward) also issued a notice, noting that students and parents should only update enrollment information from official channels of the Ministry of Education and Training , universities or schools.

Increased vigilance against “online kidnapping” scams

Previously, on the evening of August 12, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training announced that schools should strengthen measures to protect students and asked parents and students to be vigilant against the "online kidnapping" scam that the police had warned about.

According to the Criminal Police Department (Ministry of Public Security), in many provinces and cities such as Hanoi, Quang Ninh, Ho Chi Minh City, etc., subjects impersonating police, prosecutors, and courts called students, accusing them of being "involved in the case under investigation" to put psychological pressure. They asked the victims to "cooperate" by transferring money or following any instructions.

Lieutenant General Mai Hoang, Director of Ho Chi Minh City Police, said that since the beginning of the year, the city police have rescued 28 cases of “online kidnapping”. According to the Criminal Police Department (PC02), this group of criminals often targets students aged 18-22, who have just graduated from high school, are waiting for information about university admission or need to find a job, are gullible and lack experience in dealing with situations.

The common trick is to approach the victim via Zalo, Viber… impersonating the authorities, sending fake documents to threaten them. Not only calling the victim, they also contact relatives, set up a “kidnapping” scenario and demand ransom.

A typical case is that of TGV (18 years old, living in Cho Lon ward) who was just rescued on August 4. V. was lured to travel more than 350 km from Ho Chi Minh City to Dak Lak to "work with the police" under the instructions of the scam group. Thanks to the quick coordination between Cho Lon ward police, the local team and PC02, V. was found safe that same night.

In light of the above situation, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training recommends that parents and students absolutely do not listen to or comply with any requests from strange phone numbers or social media accounts. All official information about studying, exams, and enrollment is announced through the direct channels of the school and homeroom teachers. Do not post or share personal information on social networks.

Ho Chi Minh City Police recommend that when receiving suspicious calls or messages, parents and students should immediately cut off contact and immediately notify the school or police for timely support.

baotintuc.vn

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/canh-bao-chieu-tro-mao-danh-tuyen-sinh-de-lua-dao-hoc-sinh-sinh-vien-post879496.html