Can we publicly disclose scam phone numbers and block them immediately?

Persistent harassment, fraudulent intent

For several days recently, Mr. MVV, residing in Ward 15, District 10 (Ho Chi Minh City), has been receiving calls from people claiming to be police officers from the ward, urging him to go to the ward police station to register for an identification number. Always quick to grasp information and compliant with administrative regulations, Mr. V. had already completed the identification requirements beforehand, so he suspected these were scam calls. After reporting the case to the local authorities, Mr. MVV learned that many others had also received similar calls. "The neighborhood group leader directly sent a notification with the phone number of the scammer, warning that if you encounter such a call, you should hang up immediately and report it to the local police for monitoring. Regarding the network providers, I believe that if these numbers are identified as fraudulent, they should be blocked immediately to prevent further losses," Mr. MVV suggested.

Mr. MVV's suggestion is well-founded because many people lose money in a moment of carelessness. Ms. DBY, residing in Binh Hung Hoa A Ward, Binh Tan District, 80 years old, was scammed out of hundreds of millions of dong because she trusted a strange phone number that called to announce a prize. Speaking to a Thanh Nien reporter, Ms. DBY tearfully recounted: "My family is poor and struggling; my eldest son's business failed and he's in debt, and I'm not well-off either. When I received a call from a shopping mall employee announcing a prize draw, I naively followed their instructions. They told me that if I placed an order during a specific time slot, I would receive a prize, and they promised to collect the goods. I didn't suspect anything and went ahead and borrowed money to buy them, ending up with a debt of over 100 million dong." Due to her advanced age and lack of phone skills, Ms. Y. recorded all incoming calls and conversations in a notebook. Among them, many of the phone numbers used to scam the elderly woman started with 028888…

The phone number used for the scam was recorded by the victim, DBY (80 years old).

Is it possible to block or lock someone completely?

Responding to a reporter from Thanh Nien newspaper regarding the frequent calls from phone numbers advertising and offering unwanted services, representatives from several mobile network operators stated that they have implemented a free, automated system for classifying and reporting "junk SIMs" for customers. "If a subscriber is frequently reported for exceeding the telesales limit, the system will record this and permanently block that SIM. This is one of the solutions that network operators have implemented to prevent junk SIMs," said a representative from one network operator.

However, nowadays, not only mobile phone subscribers but also other phone users are being harassed, bothered, threatened, and scammed through virtual call centers and internet-based calling applications, making prevention even more difficult.

Online scams are rampant everywhere, in every sector.

NTC, a technology expert, commented: "Technically, call centers and subscribers need to operate and make calls through the network operators' systems and frequency bands. Except for cross-border fraud, prevention is not impossible, regardless of the technology used. We just need to identify the actual target, determine which entity sold the information, and impose heavy penalties, including bans on their business, to effectively curb this. Furthermore, network operators need to manage subscriber or user credit scores. Users who violate the rules will have their credit points deducted. The lower the score, the higher the tariff. If all points are lost, the subscriber can be banned for several years. If all network operators cooperate, they can gradually eliminate personnel involved in this spam advertising industry. The parent company in Europe where I used to work has implemented this solution for many governments , eliminating over 98% of spam calls."

Sharing the same view, Mr. Vo Do Thang, Director of Athena Cybersecurity Training Center, affirmed: "In terms of technical connectivity and administrative management, whether it's a virtual network or a virtual call center, they must operate through connections to licensed frequency bands, or more accurately, they must cooperate with official network operators. Therefore, in terms of management, authorities have the tools to restrict, block, or immediately stop subscribers showing signs of violations, fraudulent intentions, or those already publicly identified as fraudulent. The most important issue is whether the authorities want to take thorough action, because currently, subscribers are the main source of revenue for network operators; the more services they use and the more calls they make, the more revenue they generate."

Responding to Thanh Nien newspaper regarding measures to handle subscribers identified as fraudulent, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Phuc, Director of the Telecommunications Department (Ministry of Information and Communications), affirmed: "Tightening the management of 'junk' SIM cards and limiting fraudulent and advertising calls is a task that the Telecommunications Department is closely monitoring and directing. If any violations are detected, we will handle them immediately. For subscribers who have been publicly identified as violating the regulations, the Department will instruct them to be immediately blocked to prevent further harassment, fraud, and harm to the people."

According to statistics, in 2023, the information security warning portal recorded nearly 16,000 reports of online fraud, causing losses of over 390,000 billion VND. Of these, 91% of the information was related to the financial sector, and the rate of users receiving fraudulent online messages and calls was 73%. In response to this situation, mobile network operators have issued warnings to customers to be especially vigilant about missed international calls. International calls and messages will display a plus sign (+) or 00 at the beginning, with the next two digits not being 84 (Vietnam's country code), for example: Moldova (+373), Tunisia (+216), Equatorial Guinea (+240), Burkina Faso (+226)…

Domestic phone number prefixes include: +1900, +024, +028... Among them, the +1900 prefix includes the following phone numbers: 19003439, 19004510, 19002191, 19003441, 19002170, 19002446, 19001095, 19002190, 19002196, 19004562, 19003440, 19001199.

The +024 prefix includes the following phone numbers: 02439446395, 02499950060, 02499954266, 0249997041, 02444508888, 02499950412, 0249997037, 02499997044, 02499950212, 02499950036, 0249997038, 0249992623, 0249997035, 0249994266, 02499985212, 0245678520, 02499985220, 0249997044.

The +028 prefix includes the following phone numbers: 02899964439, 2856786501, 02899964438, 02899964437, 02873034653, 02899950012, 02873065555, 02899964448, 02822000266, 0287108690, 02899950015, 02899958588, 02871099082, 02899996142.

How do countries combat online fraud?

In China, since 2015, the government has implemented a large-scale cybercrime crackdown system involving 25 government agencies from various sectors, led by the Ministry of Public Security . Authorities have opened nearly 4,000 social media accounts nationwide to promote anti-fraud awareness, creating a powerful wave of calls for online communities to be vigilant and expose online scams.

Russia also has extensive experience in combating cyber fraud. In July 2017, Russia approved the "Digital Economy of the Russian Federation" program amidst a surge in cybercrime. The program aims to enhance security, develop mechanisms for early threat detection, and improve crime prevention efforts. The Central Bank of Russia has also deployed the FinCERT Emergency Response Team. Its main task is to analyze data from cyberattacks and then provide recommendations on money transfer orders to ensure user safety.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/cong-khai-so-dien-thoai-lua-dao-chan-luon-duoc-khong-185240528205747793.htm