On February 11th, Google announced that in just over a month, Play Protect had protected more than 360,000 devices from over 1.5 million risky installations involving 8,000 malicious apps in Vietnam.
Google shares some tips to help users stay safer online. Being knowledgeable about common scams will help individuals and communities detect and report online threats promptly.
Here are five common scams and how to avoid them.
1. Taking advantage of major events
Scammers exploit major events, leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to create new scams and enhance the sophistication of existing ones.
These individuals quickly seize upon prominent events to carry out fraudulent schemes such as selling fake tickets or impersonating charities, concerts, sporting events, cultural festivals, and even natural disasters.
Google advises users to only purchase tickets and donate through official channels. Verify charities and check URLs before clicking. Use the “About this result” feature in Google Search to check the source.
2. Investment scams using celebrities created by AI.
Scammers are using AI to create fake videos and images, impersonating celebrities to promote their scams.
These deepfakes, combined with fabricated articles and social media posts, are often used to promote illicit investments, particularly in the cryptocurrency and trading platform sectors.
Google lists 5 common scam methods in Vietnam.
The combination of influential figures, professional-looking content, and promises of high returns makes these scams particularly convincing.
Google advises users Be wary of investment advice from celebrities, especially on social media. Carefully observe any unnatural facial expressions in videos. If an investment sounds too appealing, it's very likely a scam.
3. Travel scams and fraudulent e-commerce.
Scammers create websites that mimic legitimate shopping, travel, and retail sites, luring victims with extremely attractive prices.
These websites were copied so skillfully, from the website design to the customer service pages, that they were almost indistinguishable from the originals.
To avoid detection, scammers use techniques such as "cloaking" and creating a sense of urgency by offering "limited-time deals" to force users to make quick decisions.
These scammers even manipulate business listings, adding fake phone numbers to impersonate legitimate businesses.
Google advises users to check URLs and security features, and to be wary of low prices and urgings to make quick purchases.
Use the “About this result” feature for unfamiliar websites. Through My Ads Center, find information about advertisers and report bad ads.
4. Fraud through impersonation of remote technical support services.
Scammers often impersonate technical support staff from companies, banks, and government agencies.
They create emergency situations, such as notifying victims that their devices, accounts, or security are experiencing problems. This group uses highly persuasive technical language, accompanied by fake support pages.
To increase credibility, they also employ sophisticated tactics such as spoofing caller ID and preparing pre-written dialogue scripts.
Google advises users never to grant remote access to unfamiliar accounts. Legitimate companies will not proactively make technical support calls.
5. Job scams
This scam group targets people looking for remote work and international job opportunities with attractive salaries.
They post fake job openings on reputable recruitment websites and social media, then conduct professional video interviews and perform detailed introductions, often impersonating international companies in the cryptocurrency trading or digital marketing fields.
Google advises users to be cautious of job offers that are "too good to be true," especially those involving money transfers.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/google-boc-tran-5-chieu-lua-dao-pho-bien-tai-viet-nam-196250211222351662.htm
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