Fraudulent text messages about US presidential election surveys were one of the five most common scams on the internet last week, according to the Department of Information Security (Ministry of Information and Communications).

Specifically, as the presidential election nears, many Americans say they have received many messages asking for information to conduct a survey on the election situation.

In fact, this is a scam targeting elderly citizens who are less tech-savvy.

Fraudsters impersonated employees of local government ministries, departments and agencies to approach people via text messages, enticing them to provide ballot information to update the election situation in real time, and at the same time serve the campaign work of candidates.

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The Department of Information Security (Ministry of Information and Communications) reminds people not to share personal information or transfer money without verifying the identity of the subject. Photo: NCSC

To build trust, the subject also actively listened, agreed with the victim's political views, and promised to continue calling for more supporters to increase the number of votes for the candidate the victim trusted.

Then, the subject sends a link, asking the victim to access it to fill in personal information and take the survey.

Faced with the above scam, the Information Security Department recommends that people be vigilant when receiving requests to provide sensitive information via text messages; it is necessary to verify the identity and work unit of the sender.

Also, do not share personal information or transfer money without verifying the identity of the person.

Along with 2 typical ransomware groups - Lockbit and Blackcat, 3 information-stealing malware groups - Atomic, Braodo, Golden Pickaxe are also malware families that are active in Vietnam in the third quarter of 2024.