New scam 'follows' biometric authentication regulations for banking transactions

In the 5 popular online scams in the first week of July, the Department of Information Security (Ministry of Information and Communications) especially noted a new scam, impersonating banks to trick people into performing biometric authentication to appropriate property. In addition to pointing out prominent forms of fraud in cyberspace in the past 7 days, the new 'Weekly News' content implemented by the Department of Information Security (Ministry of Information and Communications) also pointed out that fraud tricks via mobile applications are being used more and more by criminals. This is in line with the prediction from the end of last year by many security experts that increasing cyber attacks targeting smartphone users is a major trend in 2024. The reason experts make this assessment is because, in the context of strong digital transformation as it is today, smartphones are increasingly important to many people in both life and work, and therefore they have also become an attractive 'bait' for cybercriminals.

Fraudsters are increasingly using tricks to trick users with fake applications. Illustration: T.Hien

Below are 5 online fraud tricks that the Information Security Department has just recommended Vietnamese Internet users to be more vigilant: Impersonating bank employees to trick them into giving authentication instructions to appropriate property Taking advantage of the regulation requiring updating biometric data on online banking applications that took effect from July 1, in recent days, some subjects have impersonated bank staff to proactively contact users and commit fraud and appropriate property. Specifically, when contacting users of banking services, the impersonator asks the victim to provide personal data such as home address, photos of both sides of the citizen identification card, and bank account information. In many cases, the scammer also lures people into making video calls to collect the victim's voice, facial expressions, and gestures. After successfully stealing data, the subject will easily log into banking applications, make online payments and make money transfers from the victim's account, appropriating property. In addition, some subjects also trick people into downloading fake applications containing malicious code via links attached in messages. When the victim downloads this application to the phone, the subject will easily monitor the operations that the victim performs on his device, thereby exploiting more important information. In response to the new scam mentioned above, the Department of Information Security recommends that people be vigilant when receiving messages or calls instructing them to update biometric data. When contacted by individuals claiming to be bank employees or police officers, people need to verify. People should also not click on strange links or install applications from unknown sources. Talking to VietNamNet reporters, information security expert Vu Ngoc Son commented that scammers are often very quick to respond to hot events and phenomena; They often very quickly come up with scam scenarios that exploit hot events and phenomena to maximize the possibility of users 'falling into traps'. For example, in the past, when network operators standardized subscriber information, or when it was time to declare personal taxes, there were many subjects impersonating network operators and tax agency employees to trick users into installing similar fake applications. “To prevent this, users should call the bank's customer support center themselves at the officially announced phone numbers, do not install strange applications and do not provide OTP passwords,” expert Vu Ngoc Son recommended. Lost 1.2 billion VND due to installing fake online public service application A resident living in Trung Hoa ward, Cau Giay district (Hanoi) was recently scammed out of 1.2 billion VND by a subject impersonating a police officer, with the trick of instructing him to install a fake online public service application. This fake application was sent by the scammer via a link attached in a text message, after contacting and informing the victim that the victim's identification account had an error and that he had to install the application to receive remote support. When the victim followed the instructions, the scammer would gain control of the device, thereby stealing money from the victim's bank account. It is worth mentioning that the trick of installing fake public service software has been continuously warned by the authorities, but up to now, there are still people who have been scammed and lost billions of dong. The Department of Information Security recommends that people do not access strange links. When receiving notifications related to the use of public service software, people should only download applications from official sources such as the AppStore and CH Play application stores. In case of detecting signs of fraud, people need to quickly report to the authorities. Appropriating billions of dong by the disguised trick of 'Easy work, high salary' A woman living in Chon Thanh town (Binh Phuoc) has just been scammed by a bad guy and lost more than 2.3 billion dong, through the disguised trick of the 'Easy work, high salary' scam. Specifically, the subject made friends with the victim via Telegram, then introduced the victim to a part-time job at home - 'listening to designated songs, logging in and voting for singers', with a promised salary of 35,000 VND/vote. After agreeing to participate, downloading the fake Zing MP3 application and depositing money to perform the tasks as lured by the subjects, the victim had all the money transferred appropriated. Giving advice to people to be vigilant against invitations for 'Easy work, high salary', experts from the Department of Information Security also reminded people to absolutely not transfer deposits or pay participation fees without verifying the identity of the subject. Realizing signs of fraud, people need to save conversations and information of the subject, then report to the local police agency to promptly prevent fraudulent behavior. Impersonating the Anti-Fraud Center to defraud property According to the Department of Information Security, recently the Ontario Provincial Police (Canada) warned about fraudulent tricks impersonating the Canadian Anti-Fraud Center - CAFC. Specifically, the subject first impersonates bank employees, credit card providers or e-commerce platforms to approach and notify users that their accounts have been hacked and there are signs of making suspicious transactions. The subject then sent emails with the CAFC logo to increase credibility, asking victims to provide personal data, bank information and conduct transactions, stealing money. Not only that, scammers also tend to impersonate investigators working at CAFC, targeting people who are victims of fraud, promising to help them recover their lost money. The subjects will ask the victims to provide information to serve the investigation process, thereby committing acts of property appropriation. To prevent this, the Department of Information Security recommends that people be vigilant when receiving messages or emails from any unit or organization; Do not provide personal data information; Do not transfer money upon receiving a request; At the same time, it is necessary to check and verify messages and emails through electronic information portals and official phone numbers. Warning about fraud via WhatsApp application WhatsApp is a popular online chat application, widely used by people of all ages around the world. Therefore, this is also an extremely convenient platform for subjects to commit fraud and property appropriation. Through this online chat platform, the subjects are using many fraudulent tricks such as impersonating relatives and friends; Notifying participants to receive winning gifts; Trick to upgrade the application; Request to enter a confirmation code... To avoid scams via WhatsApp, the Information Security Department recommends that people be vigilant when receiving messages from strangers; Do not click on links attached to messages, do not provide personal information, and do not transfer money at the request of strangers. When receiving messages asking for loans, people need to carefully verify the identity of the sender through the information on the personal pages of those accounts.

Vietnamnet.vn

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