"AI is a two-way weapon. Malicious actors are using it to attack faster, cheaper, and more sophisticatedly. But we can also use that same tool to protect users more effectively," said Mr. Nguyen Manh Tuong, CEO of MoMo, at the Digital Trust in Finance 2026 Forum themed "Building Digital Financial Trust in the AI Era," held in Hanoi on May 12th.
Online scams are now faster and easier thanks to AI.
According to Mr. Tuong, online fraud is no longer just isolated acts of impersonation, but has become "an organized industry," operating across borders and optimized with AI to directly target the psychology and emotions of users.
In 2025, deepfake attacks are projected to increase by 2,100%, with an average of one deepfake attack occurring worldwide every five minutes. Approximately 82% of phishing emails are generated using AI.
"The scary thing isn't just the numbers, but the increasingly low threshold for participation in this game. Nowadays, you don't need technical expertise or large capital; any malicious actor can launch a large-scale attack campaign ," said the CEO of MoMo.
He stated that Vietnamese people will lose approximately 8 trillion VND due to online fraud in 2025. Notably, about two-thirds of victims experience prolonged stress, and nearly half suffer from subsequent mental health problems.
"What the scammers are targeting is not just money, but also our trust," Mr. Tuong emphasized, adding that on the MoMo platform alone, about 50% of those scammed are students under 22 years old.
Shift from “blocking bad guys” to “standing with good guys”
According to MoMo CEO Nguyen Manh Tuong, the traditional mindset in the financial industry is to detect unusual transactions and then block them.
However, the majority of successful scams today are not due to the system failing to detect the transaction, but rather because users themselves execute the transaction while under psychological manipulation.
"We've shifted from a 'blocking the bad guys' mindset to one of partnering with good people to protect them from making mistakes ," Mr. Tuong said.
Accordingly, instead of simply blocking transactions, the MoMo system will focus on detecting unusual behavior, analyzing the context, and intervening at the right time with smart alerts or prompt questions to give users time to reconsider.
Mr. Tuong argued that the crucial factor doesn't lie entirely in the AI model or algorithm: "90% of the problem doesn't lie in the algorithmic model. The real value lies in using signals from AI to intervene in user behavior and psychology at the right time and in the right way . "
Mr. Nguyen Manh Tuong, CEO of MoMo, speaks at the Digital Trust in Finance 2026 Forum.
MoMo's system currently processes each transaction in approximately 100-300 milliseconds, while simultaneously analyzing millions of signals related to behavior, devices, networks, and biometric data through various AI models.
Mr. Tuong stated that for every 1,000 users who receive a warning from the system, 995 stop the transaction. "With just a moment to reconsider, users can avoid being scammed ," he said.
According to data released by MoMo, the system alerts users daily to approximately 44 billion VND at risk of fraud, detects 29,000 unusual transactions, and sends alerts to more than 10,000 users before any losses occur.
Interdisciplinary anti-fraud platform
However, Mr. Nguyen Manh Tuong believes that current financial platforms only see a very small part of the entire scam process.
The scam process usually begins very early, when the perpetrator approaches the victim through social media, messaging apps, or phone to build trust before requesting money transfers.
"When users transfer money via MoMo or other banking apps, it's like we're only watching the 89th minute of a 90-minute movie ," Mr. Tuong said.
Mr. Nguyen Manh Tuong stated that funds are typically withdrawn from the system in less than 30 minutes, while cross-platform investigations can take days.
However, the current problem is that data and warning signals are fragmented across different businesses and sectors.
The MoMo app system now features a scam reporting function.
Vietnam encourages US businesses to expand investment in high technology.On the morning of June 26th, at the Government Headquarters, Deputy Prime Minister Ho Quoc Dung received Mr. Jeff Place, Supply Chain Director of Coherent Group (USA). During the meeting, the Deputy Prime Minister affirmed that Vietnam encourages US businesses to expand investment, especially in high-tech, innovation, and semiconductor industries. A representative from MoMo stated that the company is collaborating with experts from the Ministry of Public Security to develop an inter-agency platform for sharing real-time risk signals.
The platform is designed to connect not only the financial sector but also telecommunications, social media, messaging apps, e-commerce, logistics, and government platforms.
According to the description, when a user reports fraudulent activity on any platform within the alliance, a signal will be immediately shared across the entire system to alert the remaining units.
"One person reports a threat, and millions more can be protected before the attacker launches their next assault ," Mr. Tuong said, arguing that digital trust is now a form of "national infrastructure" just as important as roads, power grids, or banking systems.
"Without digital trust, there can be no digital economy, and it's very difficult to achieve rapid and sustainable growth," the CEO of MoMo emphasized.
Flower Rain
Source: https://vtcnews.vn/dung-ai-chong-lai-lua-dao-bang-ai-ar1017693.html
![[Image] National conference summarizing one year of operation of the overall organizational model of the political system, the three-tiered government model.](https://vphoto.vietnam.vn/thumb/1200x675/vietnam/resource/IMAGE/2026/07/01/1782882811691_ndo_br_1-jpg.webp)
