What to do to avoid being scammed into transferring money online?

Việt Nam•24/04/2024

Many people in various provinces and cities have been scammed into transferring money online through different methods, ranging from a few million to tens of millions of dong, to billions or even tens of billions of dong. So, what can you do to avoid being scammed into transferring money online?

Lost billions of dong but… didn't know.

Over the past few days, newspapers have reported that banks T. and V. are facing customer complaints regarding the loss of 5 billion VND and over 26 billion VND from their accounts, respectively. The cases are being resolved, but numerous loopholes have been revealed on both sides – shortcomings that went unaddressed. For the customer whose account suddenly lost over 26 billion VND, the cause was negligence: receiving a phone call from someone claiming to be a police officer instructing them on how to obtain a citizen identification card and then downloading a link. The 26 billion VND was subsequently lost from their account despite no money transfer activity. This case was determined to be due to malware in the downloaded link, allowing the scammer to obtain most of the user's personal information. Specifically, the perpetrator gained control of the phone owner's account, including passwords and OTP codes for internet banking. Therefore, the scammer was able to transfer money without the account holder's knowledge. Because they didn't register for balance change notifications, and because messages on the internet banking system sometimes arrive late, by the time they discovered money missing from their account, it was already too late. The same situation occurred with the customer who was scammed out of 5 billion VND, as it did with the customer who lost over 26 billion VND…

Awards were given to bank employees and police officers for their timely intervention in preventing a 1.808 billion VND fraud.

In early April, a similar phone scam involving billions of dong occurred in Ham My commune, Ham Thuan Nam district. Fortunately, Agribank Ham My branch staff, in coordination with the Ham My commune police, intervened in time. The case involved Ms. D., who had a savings account in Ham My commune with 1.808 billion dong. Through numerous phone calls, the scammers, posing as police officers, prosecutors, and court officials, threatened Ms. D., claiming she was involved in a criminal ring and that she had to transfer money for police control, promising its return after the case was concluded. They threatened that if she didn't transfer the money, she would be immediately arrested and all her accounts, house, and land would be seized. Terrified by the scammers' threats, Ms. D. complied and transferred the money. A crucial detail discovered by reporters was that, although Ms. D. was living with her son's family, she did not inform him about the scam. On the other hand, when she asked her son to drive her to the bank to transfer money to the scam group, Ms. D. lied to him, saying the bank had invited her in for questioning. Therefore, when her son drove her to the bank, he just waited in the hallway. Inside the bank, Ms. D. was urging the bank staff to transfer the money to her son, but she was also trembling with fear, saying "yes, sir/ma'am" repeatedly while receiving numerous threatening and pressuring phone calls. Noticing something unusual, the teller reported the incident to their superiors, who coordinated with the police to stop the scam. Ironically, after verifying her identity via citizen identification, the police called Ms. D.'s son (because Ms. D. lied about walking to the bank, wasting the police's time searching). The son then questioned the police and bank staff with harsh words, mistakenly believing his mother was just conducting a normal bank transaction and had no reason to be involved with the police. After hearing the bank and police explain the situation, Ms. D. and her son understood. "Turning pale," they nearly lost 1.808 billion VND, their life savings intended for retirement. Mrs. D. and her daughter apologized and thanked the bank officials and police...

To avoid being scammed…

These are just three of a series of stories about online scams using various methods. Some people are tricked through phone calls, others by providing account passwords or OTP codes, and still others by downloading links for personal use, leading to financial losses. To avoid being scammed, agencies such as the police and media have warned the public about online fraud tactics. There are many ways to avoid scams, such as limiting answering calls from unknown numbers, as most legitimate calls will include a Zalo contact with the caller's name, while scam calls will not. If you see a relevant Zalo contact, call back; if you see any offers to buy goods or land, end the call within 20 seconds to prevent the scammers from accessing your phone and stealing your information. Do not listen to strangers and download links without in-depth internet knowledge, especially now that scammers often use domain names related to taxes, insurance, and public services due to the high demand for quick and easy administrative procedures. According to the Ministry of Public Security , fraudulent links often have the extension “.apk” such as “dichvucong.apk”. If you accidentally click on a link, quickly turn off your phone, turn off 4G, and if you are at home, disconnect Wi-Fi. Immediately contact your bank to temporarily block your account. After performing these actions, you should reinstall your phone and use technology to detect and remove any malicious software.

In many cases, when someone calls claiming to be a bank employee and asks for your OTP code to assist you, you should absolutely not provide your OTP to any stranger, as this is a scam. The only exception is when you go to the bank branch and need assistance; there will be bank staff at the counter to help. For those with large account balances, worth billions of dong, experts recommend using that phone exclusively for banking transactions; this will increase security and prevent unnecessary financial losses.

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