Be careful when registering for running races.

Despite being warned many times, recently, many people have still been scammed out of several million to tens of millions of dong when buying bibs (athlete registration numbers) to participate in running races through the social network Facebook.

Not only does it defraud and appropriate people's money using many sophisticated tricks; it also affects the reputation of running races - a meaningful playground for those who love this sport .

Many sophisticated tricks

Recently, taking advantage of the fact that most running races sell bibs online through fanpages, websites, groups..., criminals have used many sophisticated tricks to scam gullible people. The price to buy a bib for road races (running on flat roads) of 21km and 42km ranges from just over 1 million VND, but some people have been scammed out of 50-60 million VND, even hundreds of millions of VND to buy a bib.

Many people were scammed when buying bibs for the Vietnam I Am 2025 race via Facebook messages. Photo: TH

The case of Mr. Phung Tien H (Duong Noi ward, Hanoi ) who was recently scammed when buying a bib to participate in the road race "Vietnam I Am 2025" which took place on August 24, 2025 in Hanoi is an example.

As a new runner, seeing the meaningful race, organized on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day September 2, Mr. H decided to buy a 9.2km bib to run. Seeing on Facebook that the fanpage "Vietnam Run, I Am 2025" sells bibs, finding out the race information with the correct date, time and location, Mr. H asked to buy a bib. Immediately after that, he received a message from an employee named Tran Duy Anh. After providing full personal information, Mr. H received a successful registration confirmation and transfer information.

“After receiving confirmation of successful registration, I trusted and transferred 1,080,000 VND to the account number provided by the subject. Immediately after that, the subject said I filled in the wrong information, asked to correct it and transfer the money back. Next, the subject lured me to participate in the preliminary round, transferred the preliminary fee. Still using the trick of transferring the wrong amount, asking to transfer it back, the transferred amount would be paid to the athlete later, the subject tricked me into participating in additional programs to ensure I met the conditions to participate in the tournament. I transferred a total of 51 million VND, but after waiting for a long time without seeing the confirmation letter from the organizing committee, I realized I had been scammed,” said Mr. H.

In addition to the case of Mr. Phung Tien H, many other athletes were also scammed by the above-mentioned methods when buying bibs to participate in the "My Vietnam 2025" race. Some lost a few million VND, while others lost tens of millions of VND, but the result was that after many days of waiting, they still did not receive a letter confirming their successful bib purchase from the organizing committee.

Similarly, recently, Ms. Nguyen Hong Nhung (Cau Giay ward, Hanoi) was almost scammed when she registered to buy a bib for the " Techcombank Marathon 2025" race online.

“I saw a fanpage named Techcombank Marathon 2025 continuously appearing on Facebook, with the content that the bib price was 70% off, so I commented. This fanpage immediately replied, asking me to send my personal information to “register for help”. After a few minutes, I received a successful registration confirmation and transfer information. Through confirmation, I saw that the unit receiving the transfer was just established in July 2025, not matching the information about the race that had been announced, so I did not transfer the money,” Ms. Nguyen Hong Nhung shared.

Bib prices for the 21km and 42km distances only fluctuate around 1 million VND, but many people have been scammed out of 50 million VND and still cannot buy a bib. Photo: TH

People need to be vigilant

Talking to reporters of Hanoi Moi Newspaper about the sophisticated wave of scams from fake fanpages of the race, causing many athletes to lose money without being able to buy bibs, General Director of PR SPORT Joint Stock Company (strategic partner of the "Vietnam I Am 2025" race and sponsor of many prestigious races in Vietnam) Mai Van Tien said that recently, bad guys have taken advantage of the image of the organizing committee of prestigious races to sell bibs, causing damage to many athletes.

Common forms of fraud today are: Impersonating official fanpages and websites to post information on social networks; sending registration links via Facebook and Zalo messages with images "exactly like the real race"... causing many athletes to fall into the trap.

“At the recent "Vietnam 2025" race, after learning that many athletes had transferred money but were unable to buy bibs, the race's Organizing Committee posted an urgent warning about fake race fanpages; pointing out the tricks that scammers are using so that people can be aware…”, Mr. Mai Van Tien added.

Nguyen Minh Thang, a long-time runner at the Ha Dong Runner Club, shared that based on his personal experience, he can recognize the signs of fake fanpages of running races with the purpose of fraud. However, it is not easy for new runners to know which is fake and which is real.

“In fact, many fake fanpages look real because their names and profile pictures are identical to the official fanpages, even having a blue tick; the articles, photos, and videos about the race are “exactly copied”. However, if you pay attention, you will know, because most fake fanpages are newly created or renamed, with few followers; the account receiving money is either an individual or an organization, but most of them are newly established. Notably, fake fanpages do not announce the official website of the race, the hotline/email of the organizing committee; and only sell bibs via text messages…”, Mr. Nguyen Minh Thang added.

In the face of increasingly sophisticated fraud by fake fanpages, Mr. Mai Van Tien recommends that athletes, especially new runners, adhere to the following principles: Do not transfer money to personal accounts via text messages; do not join Zalo/Facebook groups invited by strangers without knowing the origin; do not register to buy bibs through unverified links. People only buy bibs through official websites or platforms announced by tournament organizers.

In particular, it is necessary to carefully check the factors before transferring money such as the name of the receiving account; whether the website, email, hotline are clear; whether there is a tax code or legal information that has been announced. In addition, bib buyers can consult with famous athletes and reputable running clubs they have participated in to avoid being scammed.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/canh-giac-khi-dang-ky-tham-gia-cac-giai-chay-bo-715831.html