Online scams are a serious problem.

Experts and managers assess that the problem of cybercrime involving property theft is increasing and becoming more complex. Communication, education , and raising awareness among the community are necessary.

The above text — Many people lose money when participating in online applications.

In early 2025, Ms. Le Thi Loan ( Dong Nai province ) received a phone call from someone claiming to be a police officer, informing her that the information on her daughter's citizen ID card, who was in 5th grade, was incorrect. Initially, Ms. Loan was worried about being scammed. However, she followed the instructions, using a different phone to make calls and then using her own phone to complete online administrative procedures. After a while, Ms. Loan was shocked to check her bank account. The result was that all the money (over 5 million VND) in her bank account had vanished.

Similarly, Ms. Tran Thi Xuan Dieu, the owner of a restaurant in Dong Nai, said that recently she received messages and calls on Facebook from a man named Pham Do Huy Cuong wanting to reserve six tables of food each day. After negotiating the menu and prices, Ms. Dieu requested a deposit. Shortly after, Mr. Cuong informed her that he had transferred 39 million VND as a deposit, along with a bank receipt stating: "money for meals for the military." Upon receiving this information from the customer, the restaurant owner checked her account but found no money had arrived. Ms. Dieu reported this, and Mr. Cuong insisted he had transferred the money and asked her to perform some actions to verify. However, Ms. Dieu refused and demanded that he come to the restaurant to confront her…

Colonel Le Quang Dao, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Police, stated that cybercrime is increasing and becoming more complex. Recently, the city's police have prosecuted numerous cases related to financial crimes.

According to statistics, the Ho Chi Minh City Police have handled 461 cases of online fraud involving the appropriation of assets totaling nearly 1 trillion VND. These include 18 cases of impersonating police officers to intimidate citizens, 53 cases of requesting logins to online public service websites to change personal information and steal assets, and 102 cases of soliciting investments in trading platforms. Notably, 267 cases involved fraud through soliciting victims to become collaborators for platforms such as Lazada, Shopee, and Tiki to receive commissions.

Given the proliferation of online fraud, many believe that increased public awareness is necessary. Mr. Phan Duc Trung, Chairman of the Vietnam Blockchain Association, proposed that blockchain and AI knowledge should be quickly disseminated to minimize fraud, especially among vulnerable groups (the elderly, children, women, etc.). Law enforcement agencies should also enhance internal training and improve their expertise to master advanced technologies, making it easier to track and prevent fraudulent activities. Simultaneously, collaboration with reputable international organizations is needed to optimize the effectiveness of investigations and prevent illegal transactions.

Colonel, Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Van Chanh - People's Police University affirmed that ensuring everyone's safety in cyberspace is a major goal that the university and the police force have been striving to achieve. The university is making efforts to communicate and raise awareness among the community, especially students.

According to Colonel Le Quang Dao, it is necessary to further clarify the need to amend some relevant policies and regulations to ensure a solid legal basis for combating crime in the financial and high-tech sectors. In particular, it is crucial to raise public awareness about online fraud and strengthen people's awareness of protecting their personal data. Simultaneously, a network of collaboration between organizations should be built in the process of investigating, verifying, and handling cases.

According to Mr. Ngo Minh Hieu, an expert at the National Cybersecurity Monitoring Center, many victims of cyber fraud are reluctant to report to authorities. For victims of large sums of money, mostly those involved in romantic scams, they worry about damaging their reputation and social relationships. Others believe the amount is too small to report, or that reporting wouldn't solve anything, so they remain silent.

Experts and managers assess that the problem of cybercrime involving property theft is increasing and becoming more complex. Communication, education , and raising awareness among the community are necessary.

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