Tricking old people into 'receiving gifts from Vinaphone'

I am very cautious when I see a phone number that I don't recognize. Yet I still fell for a scam call.

Illustration using AI technology - Made by: TAN DAT

This is a well organized, well scripted scam.

Trap

In mid-September, a call came from an unknown number. They called a second time, I picked up. The other side introduced themselves: "I am a VinaPhone employee. We are celebrating our 35th anniversary, your phone number is a loyal customer because of many years of loyalty to the company. On this occasion, we have given you a valuable gift. Please come and receive it tomorrow morning." They also emphasized: "You can come and receive the gift without spending any money."

As soon as the call ended, the other party immediately texted me the address and time to pick up the gift. Seeing that the place was close to my house (in Ho Chi Minh City), I decided to stop by. A few hours later, they called again to confirm my presence and give me directions.

The next morning I arrived at the meeting point at 8am. It was a spacious air-conditioned coffee shop at the end of Cao Thang Street (Hoa Hung Ward, Ho Chi Minh City). As soon as I stopped my car, someone came up and asked: "Are you here to receive a gift? Please park your car here." In the coffee shop, I saw about 10 young men and women, who seemed to be welcoming guests. There were also some older people like me sitting attentively listening to the young receptionists giving advice on this and that.

I began to sense something was wrong. The reception area was not a VinaPhone facility, the group of young people who were welcoming guests were not wearing uniforms or name tags. The person who greeted me was not the one who called me.

He claimed to be a company employee. He asked to see the message inviting me to receive the gift. After reading it, he started to advise me, saying that there were two types of gifts: one was an electronic shopping voucher worth 5 million VND, the other was a trip to Phu Quoc worth the same amount (in November).

I replied that I wanted a gift certificate. He showed me the gift certificate and enthusiastically explained how to buy it in accordance with the regulations. Finally, he stood up and said: "Please wait a moment. The director will come and sign the purchase certificate, then I will give it to you." At this point, I realized something was fishy.

And quietly "slip away"

I tried to stay to see what would happen next. About 15 minutes later, another guy came to me to ask me what was going on. Knowing that I had been "advised", he immediately said: "The director has an urgent matter, it will take a long time. Why don't you come straight to the company to get the gift?" I asked: "Where is the company?", he replied: "In Thu Duc".

I said it was too far away, I wouldn't go. He immediately suggested: "Why don't you give me your address, I'll send the gift to your house". I flatly said: "No" and then warned: "Let me sit down and see how far you guys can push this matter?". The guy stood up, said goodbye to me and walked away.

I waited for another half an hour, the young men who were welcoming the guests gradually left the cafe. The people I guessed were the guests who came to receive the gifts also gradually left. I tried calling the person who had contacted me, he said: "Please wait a little longer", the next two calls were unanswered and he did not call back.

It hasn’t had any consequences for me yet, but what if I let my guard down? Will they let me go because I seem suspicious? I think about the cases of people trying to get across the border and then demanding ransom and I think I need to warn people about the kind of elderly people I’ve just been lured into.

VinaPhone staff do not call to give gifts

Speaking with Tuoi Tre, a VinaPhone representative confirmed that there was no such thing as a network employee calling customers to invite them to give gifts on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of its establishment (VinaPhone was established in 1996), so the call the customer received was likely from an impersonator with the purpose of fraud.

VinaPhone representative also said that in the context of users in Vietnam being increasingly cautious about calls from unknown numbers due to the situation of phone fraud and scams, Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group ( VNPT ) has just re-announced the official phone numbers used to call customers for consultation and service support.

The official VNPT numbers that are called will be displayed on the customer's phone as follows: 0888 001 091 (Support for mobile services); 0888 000 666 (Support for Internet services, MyTV television and landline phones); 0918 001 260 (Support for information technology and digitalization services); 0911 001 091 (Consulting on VNPT packages and services).

In particular, all calls from VNPT do not require customers to provide OTP, password or bank account.

Nguyen Thanh - good

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/lua-nguoi-gia-di-nhan-qua-cua-vinaphone-20250923224907924.htm