Spam calls are still rampant.

Recently, many users have complained about being harassed by calls offering stock market deals, tour discount vouchers, sales partnerships, lucky draws, and more, from morning till night. Even on weekends, they're not spared!

Being disturbed at any time of day or night.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Trung, head of sales at a delivery company in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, said that from around 9 AM onwards, he is bombarded with calls from unknown numbers offering investments in cryptocurrencies, stocks, or cheap real estate in Ho Chi Minh City. He sometimes misses important calls from partners because he thinks they are spam and doesn't answer. This negatively impacts his work.

"In early April, I hung up thinking the call was from a spam number, but it was actually a business partner needing to process some paperwork. Since then, I've been forced to answer calls from unknown numbers, but each time it's frustrating. In less than a month, I've blocked over 60 spam numbers, mostly starting with 033, 036, 024, 028..." - Mr. Trung said. Mr. Xuan Hao, an office worker in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, shared that most calls from disposable SIM cards are scams, impersonating authorities and requesting him to come to the office to verify his account to level 2, pay traffic fines, or invite him to invest in cryptocurrency projects with promises of high profits… "Last Sunday morning, before I even woke up, I received a call from someone named Thanh, with the number 02488869xx, informing me that I had won the grand prize: a Wave Alpha 125i motorbike worth over 23 million VND. To receive the prize, this person asked me to join Telegram and add the account named "Bich Tram" as a friend to receive the winning link. Before that, while I was taking a nap, someone claiming to be a Ho Chi Minh City police officer asked me to come to the office to pay a traffic fine for running a red light in Da Nang, even though I don't know how to drive," Mr. Hao said. Ms. Thuy Binh, a resident of Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City, said that calls from unregistered SIM cards have significantly impacted her work and life. "During my lunch break, I need to rest to recharge for work in the afternoon, but I'm bombarded with calls offering cryptocurrency investments, free summer tours, or credit card applications – it's driving me crazy," Ms. Binh complained.

According to many users, despite warnings that they have limited sharing personal information on social media, callers from spam SIM cards know their exact names and the province/city where they live. Spam SIM cards are also constantly changing, becoming more sophisticated by calling using prefixes like 096, 090, 091... to trick users into answering. The increasing frequency of spam calls is affecting users' work and rest time.

Users are still bothered by spam calls despite blocking them in various ways.

A layer protection mechanism is needed.

According to information security expert Huynh Trong Thua, the reason why user information is leaked and attacked by spam calls may stem from the fact that users previously provided information when registering for services or at events of unknown origin on websites or social media. Another possible reason is that information is leaked from the entity that owns the user data.

According to Mr. Thua, regulations ensuring user data security for each organization and enterprise are currently not strict enough. A tiered protection mechanism and policy are needed to ensure user data security. For example, at the reception level, access could be limited to viewing customer phone numbers and names; at higher levels, access could extend to information such as date of birth and citizen identification numbers, along with the responsibility for maintaining confidentiality. However, very few businesses in Vietnam implement this because it requires additional technology and control processes, resulting in a larger workload, increased complexity, and higher costs. "State management agencies need to take decisive action, rigorously inspecting and auditing data security levels and policies, similar to checking alcohol levels at telecommunications corporations and entities with large amounts of user information. In addition, businesses need to grant access permissions to data to limit risks for users," Mr. Thua proposed.

Mr. Nguyen Huu Nguyen, Deputy Director of the Vietnam National Cyber ​​Security Emergency Response Center (VNCERT), said that users are now quite free to share their information on social media platforms, inadvertently exposing them to constant spam calls and making them vulnerable to fraud. In addition, there are cases where some entities have sold customer data, including names, phone numbers, and email addresses, to other parties for profit. "Users should limit providing their names and phone numbers on unreliable websites and applications. Carefully read the terms of use before agreeing to share personal information. Most phones have a call blocking feature; users can use this to block specific phone numbers or suspicious numbers," Mr. Nguyen advised.

According to experts, users should avoid answering calls or messages from unknown numbers because it will only further annoy them by potentially targeting them as potential customers. Furthermore, a coordinated effort from government agencies, businesses, and users is needed to address spam calls and messages to minimize risks for themselves and others.

Sign up to not receive promotional calls.

The Information Security Department of the Ministry of Information and Communications has implemented a Do Not Call (DNC) management system, allowing all subscribers to register to block spam calls and annoying advertising messages by sending a text message "DK DNC" to 5656. Simply by doing this, users will be added to the list of those not receiving advertisements. Alternatively, users can access the website khongquangcao.ais.gov.vn, go to the "Do Not Call Management" section, enter their phone number, and click Register.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/cuoc-goi-rac-van-tung-hoanh-196240528211840691.htm