Banks increase customer protection against suspicious transactions

Faced with the increasing number of sophisticated frauds through bank accounts, the banking system is shifting to a proactive prevention phase, in which “early warning” becomes an important tool to protect customers’ financial safety.

Vietnam International Commercial Joint Stock Bank (VIB ) has just announced the implementation of an automatic warning feature for money transfer transactions to accounts with signs of suspected fraud or scams.

Specifically, from October 23, 2025, when a customer transfers money to a beneficiary account that shows signs of abnormality, the VIB system will automatically display a warning on the screen or notify directly at the counter. Customers can proactively choose to stop the transaction to check the information or continue if the recipient has been authenticated.

This feature is applied synchronously across all banking channels, including MyVIB, VIB Business, VIB Corp, Internet Banking and direct transactions. The application of the automatic warning mechanism not only helps users avoid falling into the "trap" of online fraud, but also strengthens trust in the digital banking system.

VIB also recommends that customers carefully check the recipient's information, especially when a warning appears; absolutely do not transfer money upon request from suspicious calls or messages.

Previously, the Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development ( Agribank ) was one of the pioneering banks in warning of suspicious and fraudulent accounts when deploying the AgriNotify service on Agribank Plus from mid-July 2025.

Accordingly, when customers enter the recipient's account number, before making a transfer transaction within the Agribank system or NAPAS 24/7 fast money transfer, the service will automatically compare with the database provided by the authorities ( Ministry of Public Security , State Bank, etc.) and the internal database.

In case an account is detected to be on the list of suspected fraud or scams, the system will immediately turn on a notification that the receiving account may be on the list of suspected risks and warn customers to consider when making transactions.

Not only VIB or Agribank, many other large commercial banks are also building a suspicious transaction warning system. Vietcombank has integrated the automatic warning feature of receiving money accounts with signs of fraud into Napas 24/7 fast money transfer transactions on the VCB Digibank application.

VietinBank will pilot the SIMO internal warning system from September 2025; while BIDV and MB will also upgrade their technology infrastructure, enhance security and monitor transactions in real time.

Notably, MB added the “Steel Shield” feature to the MBBank app, which helps warn customers when transferring money to suspicious accounts. The bank is also a member of the Fraud Prevention Information Network – where banks share data and coordinate to detect and prevent financial fraud.

Experts say the simultaneous deployment of warning features reflects a strong transformation of the banking industry in the context of increasing cybercrime. While in the past, banks mainly handled risks after they occurred, now the early warning mechanism is helping to transform the risk management model to a proactive, data-driven and cross-industry collaborative one.

Mr. Nguyen Duc Lenh, Deputy Director of the State Bank of Vietnam, Region 2 Branch, said that commercial banks are promoting early warning systems as a proactive "shield" against high-tech crime risks, in addition to biometric authentication solutions.

Through real-time transaction monitoring and sending direct warnings to customers, many suspicious transactions have been detected and prevented in time. Data sources from authorities and lists of fraudulent subjects and behaviors are also regularly updated, helping banks improve their risk identification capabilities.

In the long term, Mr. Lenh believes that the formation of a "Service Information Center" model connecting banks and functional agencies (police, tax, insurance, etc.) will be a necessary step to protect customers and ensure the safety of the financial and banking system in the digital age.

Data recently released by the State Bank shows that the State Bank's fraudulent account warning system has helped prevent more than VND1,790 billion in suspicious transactions, avoiding losses for 468,000 customers after only 5 months of piloting.

Strengthening the defenses for people and financial institutions against cyber security risks is not only an internal matter for each bank, but also a strategic priority at the national level.

In this context, the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime – Hanoi Convention, held on 25–26 October 2025, is of particular importance. This is the first international criminal law instrument of the United Nations designed to create a framework for global cooperation in investigation, data sharing and technical assistance on cybersecurity.

Experts say that when the Convention is ratified and put into practice, Vietnam will have the opportunity to transform its “host” role into practical coordination capacity, through perfecting the legal framework and expanding inter-sectoral cooperation. This will not only help strengthen the safety of the financial and banking system, but also contribute to creating a safer and more transparent digital environment for people and businesses.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/kinh-te/ngan-hang-gia-tang-lop-bao-ve-khach-hang-truoc-cac-giao-dich-dang-ngo-20251023160712491.htm