Identifying phone numbers aims to reduce fraud.

On November 6th, the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) held a press conference to provide information on the Ministry's activities and the information and communications sector in October 2023, as well as the plan for implementing key tasks in the coming period. The conference also included discussions with the press on issues related to the Ministry's activities and the information and communications sector that are currently attracting media and public attention.

Accordingly, in October 2023, total industry revenue is estimated at VND 372,463 billion, an increase of 5% compared to the previous month and an increase of 11% compared to the same period last year. Cumulative industry revenue up to the end of October 2023 is estimated at VND 3,016,617 billion.

State budget contributions are estimated at 8,393 billion VND, an increase of 4% compared to the previous month and a decrease of 17% compared to the same period last year. Cumulative budget contributions across the entire sector up to the end of October 2023 are estimated at 79,014 billion VND.

Regarding phone number identification, at a press conference in October 2023, the Ministry of Information and Communications announced the implementation of call identification for agencies and units under the Ministry. This information was disseminated to readers nationwide by the press and received much positive feedback.

Event - Identifying phone numbers to curb fraud — A panoramic view of the press conference.

However, many also argue that if only a few units take action, the problem cannot be completely solved, as there are currently many fraudulent calls impersonating government agencies, credit institutions, or e-commerce businesses offering "easy jobs with high salaries," or soliciting real estate and investment...

"If all agencies, departments, organizations, and businesses were to assign phone numbers to each other, this situation would be reduced," the Ministry of Information and Communications stated.

The Ministry of Information and Communications requests that media agencies continue to provide information and create consensus among the public so that agencies, departments, organizations, and businesses can work together to implement measures that effectively reduce fraudulent and deceptive calls that bother people.

Regarding the handling of violations related to radio frequency content, in October, the Frequency Department detected and processed 12 mobile signal boosters causing interference; and 17 violations related to frequency usage, including 8 cases of fines, 6 cases of warnings, and 3 cases of reminders.

Two more cases of fake mobile base stations (fake BTS) infiltrating public telecommunication networks and spreading fraudulent messages to the public have been detected in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (bringing the total to 17 cases since the beginning of 2023). The detection of these fake BTS stations has assisted operational units of the Ministry of Public Security , the Hanoi Police, and the Ho Chi Minh City Police in apprehending the masterminds and those using the BTS to spread fraudulent messages in the shortest possible time.

Event - Identifying phone numbers to limit fraud (Figure 2). — Scamming calls are rampant, ranging from impersonating government agencies and credit institutions to e-commerce businesses offering "easy jobs with high salaries"...

Regarding the fight against cross-border social media platforms and the provision of illegal online games, the results for October 2023 are as follows: Facebook blocked and removed over 404 posts, 1 group, and 7 violating accounts (90% success rate); Google removed 480 violating videos on YouTube (92% success rate); TikTok blocked and removed 53 violating content items (95% success rate).

In addition, regarding information security in cyberspace, according to the Ministry of Information and Communications, in October 2023, the Ministry recorded, warned about, and guided the handling of 1,010 cyberattacks causing incidents on information systems in Vietnam (1,010 phishing attacks, 0 defacement attacks, 30 malware attacks), an increase of 11.8% compared to September 2023 (903 attacks), and an increase of 17.9% compared to the same period in October 2022 (857 attacks).

The organization reviewed and recorded 53 websites with embedded advertising content (22 websites belonging to 12 Ministries/Agencies, and 31 websites belonging to 24 Provinces/Cities) and sent warnings to the managing units for handling .

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