Applying for a passport online like this, beware of falling into a scam trap

The form of fake e-passport websites is becoming a dangerous "super trap", causing victims to lose money, lose their identity, and even lose their digital security while the scammers leisurely earn hundreds of millions of dong.

New tricks under the guise of "public service"

According to the Nghe An Provincial Police website, taking advantage of people's desire for speed and simplicity in carrying out administrative procedures, the subjects have created fake websites with interfaces similar to the National Public Service Portal or official websites of the Ministry of Public Security . On these websites, they provide detailed instructions on how to " register for a passport online ", ask users to pay passport fees, "fast processing" fees, and even collect citizen identification images and portrait photos for fraudulent purposes. Some common tricks include:

- Impersonating official websites of online public administrative services: Addresses that are almost identical to the real ones, such as hochieu-online.vn, lamhochieu24h.com, instead of https://dichvucong.gov.vn or https://dichvucong.bocongan.gov.vn

- Impersonating police officers: Calling, texting, sending emails asking for additional documents, paying money for "urgent processing".

- Fraud via social media platforms: Create a Facebook fanpage with thousands of followers, post "dedicated" instructions, with phone numbers and links to scam sites, then collect personal data.

According to Mr. Vu Ngoc Son, Technology Director of Vietnam National Cyber Security Technology Company, analyzed: "Hackers often lure victims to access fake websites to download malicious applications. When this application is granted permission, they will operate secretly, remotely controlling the device to perform unauthorized transactions, even when the device is not in use."

Illustration photo/ Department of Information Security.

Mr. Nguyen Huy Phuong in Xuan Phuong ward (Nam Tu Liem district) is still feeling angry and worried after hiring a "service" to make a passport quickly in 2 days and being scammed.

Mr. Phuong recounted that through the group "Fast Passport Service" on Facebook, he chose an account because it had the most comments and a promise: "I will pay when I have a passport". After calling the phone number 0378756459, he received instructions via Zalo to send a portrait photo, a photo of his chip-embedded citizen ID card, his main phone number, VNEID level 1 or level 2 electronic identification, VNEID password, address...

After 2 days, the subject sent Mr. Phuong a photo of his passport. Feeling confident, when this person offered to pay in advance to cover the expenses, Mr. Phuong did not hesitate to transfer 3 million VND. "After I transferred the money, I called the above phone number but could not contact them. I was very worried, partly because I lost money and missed work, but most importantly because I had provided a lot of personal information, so I was afraid it would be leaked and I would be at a disadvantage when being taken advantage of by bad guys...".

Following the information provided by Mr. Phuong, the reporter accessed the social networks Facebook and TikTok and found dozens of individuals and groups posting information about "fast passport service", "super fast passport nationwide"... with invitations such as: "Pay upon receipt", "Customers only need to take a portrait photo, we will take care of the rest"...

Associations and groups offering “passport application services” on Facebook. (Photo: Vietnam Immigration Portal)

But besides that, there are also many groups set up to warn about the scams that collect money for passports and then disappear. In the group “Exposing visa services - passports - financial proof - spam scams”, many warning posts are posted, providing information, pictures, and personal accounts of the scammers.

Nguyen Kim account continuously posted notices about Pham Huy A. account, phone number 0937795XXX, specializing in making passports quickly in 2-3 days but receiving money from customers, then locking the phone, blocking Facebook, and changing the profile picture. Nguyen Kim account itself said that it was also scammed out of 5 million VND...

How to recognize and avoid “online passport traps”

In the face of fraud, the Department of Information Security ( Ministry of Information and Communications ) recommends that people be vigilant when searching for exit document services on social networking sites. Currently, the Immigration Department only provides services through the electronic portal https://xuatnhapcanh.gov.vn/, Facebook accounts and fanpages providing the above services are all fake. Absolutely do not provide personal images and information, do not transfer money to strangers. When detecting signs of fraud, organizations and individuals need to immediately report to the nearest police agency for handling according to regulations.

People need to be wary of online passport services on social networks. (Photo: VTV)

The Immigration Department recommends that people should submit their applications online on the National Public Service Portal and the Ministry of Public Security's Public Service Portal. In case they cannot submit their applications themselves, they can ask friends or relatives who are knowledgeable about information technology to guide and support them in submitting their applications, or they can go directly to the Immigration Department's headquarters for guidance and support.

We recommend that people absolutely do not work through intermediaries or advertisements on social networking sites such as Zalo, Facebook... to avoid being taken advantage of by subjects to commit fraud.

To prevent bad guys from taking advantage of the online passport issuance "service" to steal personal information to commit illegal acts, the Immigration Department provides instructions on the online passport application procedure as follows:

Step 1: Log in to the National Service Portal or the Ministry of Public Security's Public Service Portal and select the Ordinary Passport Issuance service. In case of applying for a passport for the first time, choose to perform the service at the convenient provincial level. In case of applying for a passport from the second time onwards, citizens can choose to perform the service at the provincial or central level.

Step 2: Submit application

- Upload portrait.

- Basic information of citizens (full name, date of birth, gender, residential address, etc.) is automatically updated by the Public Service Portal from the National Population Database. Citizens add missing information to the corresponding columns and sections: place of birth, request content, registration of place to receive passport issuance results; account information (for refund in case passport is not issued).

- In case of lost passport, reissued passport or other cases requiring additional documents according to regulations, follow the instructions in the DOCUMENT COMPONENTS section.

Step 3: Check information

- Select AGREE AND CONTINUE to check all information again.

- After checking, enter the confirmation code and select SUBMIT APPLICATION.

- After completing the steps, citizens wait for approval from the immigration authority.

- In case the inspection detects that the system updates the 9-digit ID card information, the application is not eligible for online submission. Citizens need to go to the police station of the ward or commune where they reside to update their population data or go directly to the immigration management agency to submit their passport application.

- In case of re-issuing a passport while the old passport is still valid, the citizen is required to return the old passport.

Step 4: Pay fees online

After the application is approved, the applicant pays the fee online via the link sent by the Public Service Portal via text message or email.

Step 5: Receive passport results

Citizens receive passport issuance results at the immigration office or at home if they register to receive them via postal service.

Step 2: Submit application

- Upload portrait.

- In case of lost passport, reissued passport or other cases requiring additional documents according to regulations, follow the instructions in the DOCUMENT COMPONENTS section.

Step 3: Check information

- Select AGREE AND CONTINUE to check all information again.

- After checking, enter the confirmation code and select SUBMIT APPLICATION.

- After completing the steps, citizens wait for approval from the immigration authority.

- In case of re-issuing a passport while the old passport is still valid, the citizen is required to return the old passport.

Step 4: Pay fees online

After the application is approved, the applicant pays the fee online via the link sent by the Public Service Portal via text message or email.

Step 5: Receive passport results

Citizens receive passport issuance results at the immigration office or at home if they register to receive them via postal service.

Speaking with reporters from the Knowledge and Life Newspaper , lawyer Nguyen Ngoc Hung - Head of the Ket Noi Law Office (Hanoi Bar Association) said that the act of impersonating official websites of agencies such as the National Public Service Portal or the Ministry of Public Security to illegally collect personal information is determined to be a violation of the law on cyber security.

Lawyer Nguyen Ngoc Hung - Head of Ket Noi Law Office (Hanoi Bar Association).

According to Article 84 of Decree 15/2020/ND-CP on penalties for violations of regulations on collection and use of personal information, a fine of VND 40,000,000 to VND 60,000,000 shall be imposed for the act of illegally collecting, using, disseminating, or trading personal information of others. The remedy is to force the cancellation of personal information due to the violation.

In addition, the act of impersonating the electronic information page of another organization or individual as prescribed in Clause 3, Article 99 of Decree 15/2020/ND-CP will be subject to a fine of VND 20,000,000 to VND 30,000,000. Additional penalties include confiscation of exhibits and means of administrative violation. Remedial measures include forcing the removal of links to false or misleading information, information that violates the law, and forcing the revocation or return of domain names.

In cases where the act causes serious consequences or is of a particularly dangerous nature, criminal liability may be prosecuted for crimes related to cyber security such as crimes of appropriation, disclosure, alteration, deletion or damage to information of the network system, crimes of fraud and appropriation of property via the network or other crimes as prescribed by the Penal Code 2015, amended and supplemented in 2017.

Source: https://khoahocdoisong.vn/khai-ho-chieu-online-kieu-nay-coi-chung-sap-bay-lua-dao-post1541432.html