Expert Hieu PC: Tips to identify and avoid online scams

In the context of the strong development of e-commerce in Vietnam, along with the emergence of many sophisticated forms of online fraud, protecting consumer rights has become a top priority. In order to provide information, warnings and raise public awareness, reporters of the Industry and Trade Newspaper had a conversation with Mr. Ngo Minh Hieu (also known as Hieu PC), a cybersecurity expert, founder of the Anti-Fraud project - who directly researches and deploys anti-fraud solutions in cyberspace.

*Cyber security expert Hieu PC talks with reporters from Cong Thuong Newspaper about how to identify online scam websites. Photo: Thai Manh.*

At the end of 2020, Mr. Ngo Minh Hieu and a group of cybersecurity experts founded the non-profit organization Anti-Fraud to protect Vietnamese internet users from fake websites, scam sites, and malicious websites/phishing. The project provides tools such as browser extensions, applications, and APIs to help users check the reliability of websites, detect malicious links, and receive timely warnings when accessing fraudulent/phishing addresses.

During the discussion, cybersecurity expert Ngo Minh Hieu shared his views on the role of the Ministry of Industry and Trade in monitoring e-commerce, signs to identify reputable websites, as well as suggestions for applying modern technology to protect consumers.

From passion for technology to mission to protect the community from online fraud

*Cyber security expert Hieu PC (second from left) and his colleagues regularly participate in programs to share experiences in preventing fraud in the digital environment. Photo: NVCC.*

- Could you please share your journey into the field of cybersecurity and anti-fraud? What makes you stick with and persevere with this mission?

Expert Ngo Minh Hieu: I am the Director and co-founder of the "Anti-Fraud" project with my colleagues, which has been operating for nearly 5 years, starting in 2020. The idea for the project came from a few friends and I discussing the desire to contribute something to the community, when we realized that online fraud was too common.

When I returned to Vietnam from the US, I realized that too many people were being scammed in many different ways. That's why we decided to establish the Anti-Fraud project. Since its inception, the project has been fortunate to receive major awards: a "Make in Vietnam" award, a "Vietnam Talent 2023" award, with the participation and award of a certificate of merit from Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. Most recently, the third prize in the "Promising Digital Technology Product" category of Vietnam Talent 2025. This is something that brings us a feeling of great honor.

The project was awarded mainly for its application of modern technologies, especially artificial intelligence (AI). We hope to create an environment for young people to have the opportunity to contribute to the community and society through technological knowledge and skills, while avoiding them from going down the wrong path or getting into trouble with the law. Up to now, the project has more than 30 members, most of whom are young Vietnamese, many of whom are living and working abroad.

From the project, many students have found jobs abroad or at large domestic corporations. There is a very young member, still in high school, who has won a scholarship to study in the US.

Recently, the team has launched new tools to protect the community based on AI technology. These tools include chatbots that allow users to ask questions related to cybersecurity or information security laws. The meaning of the project is to help the community protect each other with common strength, and to leverage technology to support users. For example, when encountering a suspicious link or website, they can access chongluadao.vn to check immediately with high accuracy.

Achievements and Awards

- Can you share more about the outstanding functions of Anti-Fraud and user feedback on the project's operations?

Expert Ngo Minh Hieu: First, when using Anti-Fraud tools, users are protected in real time thanks to artificial intelligence technology. Second, they are also protected silently through the database that Anti-Fraud has integrated into the platforms of large technology companies such as Google or reputable websites.

We have found that users are often reluctant to install new software, especially software related to security or information safety, because it can sometimes be too complicated for those who are not tech-savvy. This is the group we want to protect the most. So in recent years, Anti-Phishing has integrated its database directly into products that users already use every day, such as Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge or Safari on iOS. This allows us to protect users on familiar platforms, instead of requiring them to install new software.

To date, the project has protected more than 200,000 users through the Anti-Phishing community with more than one million members. The project has also blocked hundreds of thousands of malicious websites, not only in Vietnam but also worldwide . Fortunately, Anti-Phishing has been recognized and reported by many press agencies and official media channels of the State. This gives us great encouragement to continue contributing to the community.

Threats and how to identify phishing websites

*Cyber security expert Ngo Minh Hieu PC shares tips on how to be vigilant against sophisticated online scams. Photo: NVCC.*

- With the strong development of e-commerce today, in your opinion, how is the role of the Ministry of Industry and Trade demonstrated in ensuring safety and protecting consumers?

Expert Ngo Minh Hieu: In the current context, the role of the Ministry of Industry and Trade is especially important in ensuring that e-commerce websites and applications operate safely, in accordance with regulations and are licensed with the Ministry's authentic seal. The logo and certification of the Ministry of Industry and Trade on e-commerce sites not only protect consumer rights but also certify that these are reputable platforms for transactions.

Most e-commerce websites and applications must register with the Ministry of Industry and Trade to be granted a confirmation logo. Therefore, when users access or make transactions on any application or website without this logo, they should absolutely not continue the transaction, because there is a risk of information theft, property appropriation or buying fake or poor quality goods.

However, there are also cases where scammers fake logos. Some scam sites take the logo of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and put it on their website, but when clicked, it does not lead to the official authentication page at online.gov.vn. In some cases, they even fake the display page of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Therefore, users must note that the website of the competent authority must have the extension .gov.vn to be legitimate.

Users need to compare the real link of the e-commerce platform with the link displayed on the page they are visiting. Many scam sites use strange domain names such as .xyz, .online… to impersonate reputable brands with the .vn extension. Checking the domain name and registration information on the Ministry of Industry and Trade's website is the best way to ensure safe transactions.

Applying AI and biometrics to enhance e-commerce surveillance

*Cyber security expert Hieu PC in a direct exchange and sharing with students at Hong Bang Secondary School about protection and safe use in the digital environment. Photo: NVCC.*

- In the thriving online shopping environment, consumers are the most vulnerable to fraud. What suggestions do you have for the Ministry of Industry and Trade to further support in monitoring and coordinating the handling of violations?

Expert Ngo Minh Hieu: I have some suggestions that I hope the Ministry of Industry and Trade can consider applying. Firstly, the Ministry can use data processing technology using artificial intelligence (AI) to filter information and verify whether the registered businesses are real or not. There are cases where businesses have legal entities, but operate fraudulently, or the registration information is unclear and lacks transparency.

Second, biometric solutions can be applied to authenticate business owners. This helps prevent the use of fake documents to apply for the Ministry of Industry and Trade's authentication logo. In fact, we have discovered a number of cases where fraudulent websites have faked documents and applied for the Ministry of Industry and Trade's logo. This is extremely dangerous.

The application of biometrics will significantly reduce the risk of fraud, document misuse and abuse of the reputation of the Ministry of Industry and Trade to appropriate users' assets.

Raising awareness of e-commerce security

*The Anti-Fraud Project operates and develops with the goal of raising user awareness. Photo: NVCC.*

- From a cyber security perspective, what do you think is the biggest weakness in the Vietnamese e-commerce ecosystem today? Does the Anti-Fraud Project want to coordinate with the Ministry of Industry and Trade or other relevant agencies to improve the effectiveness of warning and handling of violations in cyberspace?

Expert Ngo Minh Hieu: In the e-commerce ecosystem, one of the biggest weaknesses is user awareness. They are easily attracted by attractive offers, for example information about cheap products, prepayment requirements or incentives such as "buy now, pay later". These tricks can lead to the risk of account hijacking or OTP code disclosure.

On the technology side, collaboration between parties to share data is also very important. For example, to combat fraud models, we can connect information between the Ministry of Industry and Trade with projects such as Anti-Fraud, thereby creating a large data set to detect fraudulent behavior on websites, applications or in online transactions.

Some big tech companies like Google have integrated our phishing information into their Chrome browser or Google Search platform, products that people use every day. Google Chrome is used by more than 3 billion people worldwide, while the Anti-Phishing database is used to detect scam emails, phishing websites, emails containing malicious code, etc.

If we have the opportunity to work and coordinate with the Ministry of Industry and Trade to share data, we believe that it will be very helpful in verifying and handling violations in the e-commerce environment. At the same time, it is very important to widely communicate to users about the official information portal of the State and tools such as Anti-Fraud. Many users do not have the habit of looking up, so the situation of fraud is so common.

Skills to identify and protect yourself against sophisticated scams

*Cyber security expert Hieu PC: "Report directly to the police or competent authorities when encountering fraud situations." Photo: NVCC.*

- Recently, a series of sophisticated forms of fraud have appeared such as impersonating bank employees, impersonating tax authorities, recruiting collaborators, online loans... What skills should users equip themselves with to protect themselves in the context of increasingly complex fraud tricks?

Expert Ngo Minh Hieu: First of all, users need to understand that signs of fraud are often very obvious if you pay attention. Fraudulent websites often have the following identification:

First, the content is simple, only focusing on the initial interface but below it lacks contact information or business license. Second , the payment method is not safe, for example, luring investment through virtual currency or unofficial payment methods. Third, the logo, fake images with poor quality and misspelled words, unprofessional. Fourth, only asking for login name, password, OTP code without other reasonable authentication steps.

In addition, users need to pay attention to the website link. For example, websites of Vietnamese government agencies must have the extension .gov.vn; Impersonating websites often have strange extensions such as .xyz, .online... Do not download applications from sources other than the App Store or Google Play to avoid malware. We recommend three basic steps for each individual to protect themselves: Slow down, do not rush to enter information or transfer money. Verify when using Google, the website of the Ministry of Industry and Trade or Anti-Fraud to verify information. When detecting fraudulent activities, immediately report to the authorities to protect yourself and the community. Reporting helps the authorities grasp information and take timely measures.

Another important point to note is that no service can guarantee “money back” if you are scammed. Only report directly to the police or the competent authorities. Do not trust fake “money back” services online.

Press, media and user awareness raising

- In the era of digital transformation and e-commerce, what is the role of the press in propagating and warning people about high-tech fraud?

Expert Ngo Minh Hieu: Currently, most people access information mainly through popular social networks such as Facebook, TikTok or Instagram. Therefore, the role of the press becomes extremely important in conveying information, warning of risks and raising awareness in the community. The mainstream press needs to create content that is close, easy to understand and attractive, in order to attract people's attention, while providing reliable knowledge about information security and identifying fraudulent behaviors in the online environment.

For example, short, vivid video clips that illustrate real-life scenarios of scams or show how to identify fake websites will help people visualize and remember the warnings. At the same time, collaboration with cybersecurity experts will provide specialized knowledge, but it needs to be communicated in friendly, accessible language so that people, especially young people, can understand and apply it immediately in practice.

The Industry and Trade Newspaper, as the mouthpiece of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, can promote the posting of this information on popular social networking platforms, where people regularly access, to create rapid and effective dissemination. If the Anti-Fraud project closely coordinates with the press, providing warning data, identification instructions and online checking tools, the impact will be even stronger. People will have access to information quickly, easily understood and reliably, thereby forming a more vigilant community, minimizing the risk of being scammed. At the same time, the combination of the press and technology, especially artificial intelligence, will help to warn early, proactively prevent risks, and improve the effectiveness of protecting consumer rights in the context of e-commerce and online payments growing strongly.

Take a few seconds to verify information to protect your assets.

- If you could send a short message to consumers, what would it be?

Expert Ngo Minh Hieu: The shortest thing I want to share is: Always slow down even for a minute to verify information before transferring money or accessing strange links. Just a few seconds to check on Google, on the website of the Industry and Trade Newspaper, on the website of the Ministry of Industry and Trade or on chongluadao.vn, users can protect their assets. If you are too hasty, it is easy to fall into a scam trap.

Thank you!

The rapid development of e-commerce has created an urgent need for consumer protection. Verifying the logo of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, authenticating businesses and identifying standard domain names are fundamental principles to help limit risks. Applying new technologies such as biometrics and artificial intelligence also contributes to enhancing the protection layer for the online ecosystem. In this context, the role of the media becomes especially important as the official media channel, promptly updating information, warning of risks and guiding people to practice safe transactions. Experience from the Anti-Fraud project shows that the combined strength of press agencies, technology enterprises and state management creates a transparent, safe and sustainable online transaction environment for Vietnamese consumers.

Source: https://congthuong.vn/chuyen-gia-hieu-pc-bi-kip-nhan-dien-de-tranh-bay-lua-dao-truc-tuyen-433275.html