Deceiving elderly people into 'receiving gifts from Vinaphone'

I'm very cautious when I see unfamiliar phone numbers calling. Yet, I still fell for a call that looked like a scam.

Illustration created using AI technology - By: TAN DAT

This is an organized scam, a well-planned scheme.

Setting a trap

In mid-September, I received a call from an unknown number. They called a second time, and I answered. The person on the other end introduced themselves: "I'm a VinaPhone employee. We're celebrating our 35th anniversary, and your phone number is that of a loyal customer who's been with us for many years. To celebrate, we're giving you a valuable gift. Please come and pick it up tomorrow morning." They emphasized, "You can come and receive the gift without spending a single penny."

As soon as the call ended, the other party immediately texted me the address and time to pick up the gift. Seeing that the pickup location was near my house (in Ho Chi Minh City), I decided to go there. After a few hours, they called again to confirm my arrival and give me directions.

The next morning, I arrived at the meeting point at 8:00 AM. It was a rather spacious, air-conditioned cafe at the end of Cao Thang Street (Hoa Hung Ward, Ho Chi Minh City). As soon as I parked my motorbike, someone approached and asked, "Are you here to receive your gift? Please park your motorbike this way." Inside the cafe, I saw about ten young people, both men and women, who seemed to be greeting customers. There were also some older people, like myself, attentively listening to the young people advising us on various matters.

I started to sense something was amiss. The reception area wasn't a VinaPhone facility, the young people greeting me weren't wearing uniforms or name tags. The person who greeted me wasn't the one who had called me.

He claimed to be an employee of the company. He asked to see the message inviting me to receive a gift. After seeing it, he started advising me about two types of gifts: one was a voucher for electronics worth 5 million VND, and the other was a trip to Phu Quoc worth the same amount (in November).

I replied that I wanted a gift voucher. He took out a voucher to show me, enthusiastically explaining how to make the purchase legally. Finally, he stood up and said, "Please wait a moment. The manager will be here soon and sign the purchase order, then I'll give it to you." At this point, I sensed something fishy was going on.

And then quietly "slipped away".

I tried to linger to see what would happen next. About 15 minutes later, another guy came up to me and started talking. Knowing I had already received "advice," he said, "The director has an urgent matter to attend to, you'll have to wait a long time. Why don't you go straight to the company to pick up your gift?" I asked, "Where is the company?" He replied, "In Thu Duc."

I said it was too far and I couldn't go. He then suggested, "How about you give me your address, and I'll send the gift to your house?" I flatly refused, saying, "No," and warned him, "Let me sit here and see how far you guys are pushing this." The young man stood up, said goodbye, and went somewhere else.

I waited another half hour, and the young men who had been greeting guests gradually left the cafe. Those I guessed were guests coming to collect their gifts also slowly left. I tried calling the person who had contacted me, and he said, "Please wait a little longer." The next two calls went unanswered, and he didn't call back.

The incident didn't have any consequences for me, but what would have happened if I had let my guard down? Would they have let me go because they saw I seemed suspicious? I thought about the attempts to smuggle people across the border and then demand ransom, and I felt I needed to warn others about this kind of scam targeting elderly people, like the one I just experienced.

VinaPhone employees did not call to give gifts.

Speaking to Tuổi Trẻ newspaper, a representative from VinaPhone confirmed that no network employees have called customers to offer gifts in celebration of the company's 35th anniversary (VinaPhone was founded in 1996). Therefore, the calls customers received were likely from imposters with the intention of committing fraud.

A representative from VinaPhone also stated that, in the context of Vietnamese users becoming increasingly cautious about calls from unknown numbers due to the prevalence of impersonation and phone scams, the Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group ( VNPT ) has just re-announced the official phone numbers used to call customers for advice and service support.

The official VNPT service numbers displayed on customers' phones are as follows: 0888 001 091 (Mobile service support); 0888 000 666 (Internet, MyTV television, and landline phone service support); 0918 001 260 (Information technology and digitalization service support); 0911 001 091 (VNPT service and package consultation).

Notably, all calls from VNPT do not require customers to provide OTP, passwords, or bank account information.

Nguyen Thanh - D. Thien

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