Common forms of online fraud in Vietnam.

With the rapid development of the digital economy, the Internet has become an indispensable part of our daily lives. According to VNETWORK statistics, in January 2023, Vietnam had a total of 77.93 million Internet users, reaching an Internet usage rate of 79.1% of the total population. According to Kepios' analysis, the number of Internet users in Vietnam increased by 5.3 million (+7.3%) compared to 2022. However, approximately 20.9% of the Vietnamese population, or 20.60 million people, did not use the Internet at the beginning of 2023.

Many forms of fraud involve calls from unknown numbers. (Illustrative image: Internet)

In January 2023, Vietnam had approximately over 70 million social media users. According to organizations like GWI and data.ai, the popularity of social media in Vietnam continues to grow without showing any signs of slowing down. However, not every social media user account corresponds to a single individual. At the beginning of 2023, the number of social media users in Vietnam reached 71.0% of the total population, but according to data from advertising planning tools of leading social media platforms, only 64.40 million users were 18 years old or older.

However, this rate remains very high, reaching 89.0% of the total population aged 18 and over. In other words, 89.8% of Vietnam's total internet users had used at least one social media platform in January 2023. Among social media users in Vietnam, the proportion of women is higher than that of men, with 50.6% being female and 49.4% being male.

The "trap" of easy jobs with high salaries online has deceived many people. (Illustrative image: Internet)

According to data from GSMA Intelligence, at the beginning of 2023, Vietnam had 161.6 million mobile connections. This means that many people use more than one mobile connection, for example, one for personal use and another for work. Therefore, it is not surprising that the number of mobile connections significantly exceeds the total population. According to GSMA Intelligence, this ratio is equivalent to 164.0% of the total population in January 2023. The number of mobile connections in Vietnam also increased by 4.7 million (+3.0%) from 2022 to 2023.

In the current phase of accelerated digital transformation, malicious actors have taken advantage of the IT boom and the conveniences that information technology brings to carry out numerous online scams and steal high-value assets.

In 2022, the Vietnam Information Security Warning Portal at canhbao.khonggianmang.vn recorded nearly 13,000 cases of online fraud, with two main types: fraud aimed at stealing personal information and financial fraud. Fraudulent activities aimed at stealing personal information often serve as a stepping stone for the development and execution of financial scams.

To carry out online scams, fraudsters employ various methods to build trust, but these can be broadly categorized into three main groups: brand impersonation (72.6%), online account hijacking (11.4%), and other forms such as online job scams, romance scams, and loan apps (16%).

According to the Information Security Department of the Ministry of Information and Communications, the ultimate goal of these individuals is to defraud and misappropriate assets; they all exploit the gullibility, lack of access to information, unemployment or low income, and the deep-seated greed within each person.

Notably, based on the practical implementation of cybersecurity monitoring and assurance activities in Vietnam, with the three main types of fraud mentioned above, experts from the Department of Information Security also pointed out the forms of fraud that frequently occurred in Vietnam's cyberspace in 2022 so that users can recognize and prevent them.

That is:

Group 1 - Brand counterfeiting, includes:

- Impersonating the brands of agencies and organizations, such as: government agencies, banks, financial companies, securities companies… to send fraudulent SMS messages to victims.

- Impersonating legitimate websites/blogs to gain credibility, deceive victims, and collect people's personal information.

Group 2 - Account hijacking, includes:

- Gaining control of social media accounts, such as Zalo, Facebook, TikTok, etc., to send fraudulent messages to friends and relatives in order to seize account access, steal information, misappropriate assets, defame reputation, extort money, etc.

- They use apps, advertise illegal lending on websites, send spam emails, SMS messages, and social media platforms like Facebook, Telegram, and Zalo to lure users into debt without the victims' knowledge.

Group 3 - Combined forms, including:

- Using domestic or international phone numbers, impersonating police agencies, telecommunications companies, etc., to call victims, inform them of legal violations, and demand money transfers.

- Using unfamiliar phone numbers to call victims, when victims answer, money is deducted from their accounts without their knowledge.

- They impersonate large e-commerce websites in Vietnam and abroad to trick victims into becoming collaborators. To lure victims, the perpetrators run fraudulent ads on Facebook or send spam advertising messages via SMS.

- Spreading fake news that exploits curiosity, compassion, and trust. The goal is to gain views and likes, and then deceive and steal money through the guise of charity and fundraising...

- Fraudulent appropriation of property through online sales promotion on Facebook (selling counterfeit goods, low-quality goods, fake airline tickets, fake promotions, virtual goods, or advertising fake products that do not exist).

- Impersonating personal profiles and user accounts on Facebook, Telegram, and Zalo to build credibility and trick victims into using services or making investments.

- Exploiting trust and pity to commit fraud through platforms such as Facebook, Zalo, Tinder, and Telegram.

- Scams involve planting malware through malicious links and malicious software. Perpetrators create tools, links, and malicious software to steal assets and information from social media and bank accounts.

- Announcing prize winnings, gifts, or promotions to trick victims into having their account information and assets stolen through fake websites.

- The tactic involves upgrading to a 4G or 5G SIM card to trick victims into giving up their phone numbers in order to steal their account information and assets.

- Impersonating emails from reputable banks, agencies, or organizations to intimidate, threaten, and extort money from victims.

- Setting up cryptocurrency investment platforms, multi-level marketing schemes, binary options trading, Forex trading, etc., to defraud and misappropriate assets.

To protect people from online fraud on social media and telecommunications networks, authorities, service providers, and cybersecurity companies have implemented various technical measures and conducted awareness campaigns to educate customers and the public.

Representatives from the Department of Information Security also stated that, in recent times, to protect citizens and the community from online fraud, functional agencies, service providers, and cybersecurity companies have implemented many technical measures, in collaboration with news agencies and the press, to carry out a series of awareness campaigns for customers and the public. Some measures have initially yielded certain results. However, the implemented solutions are still not synchronized and consistent across ministries, sectors, and localities.

Therefore, the Cybersecurity Department believes that, to address online fraud, which is similar to real-life fraud, coordinated and synchronized participation from functional agencies from the central to local levels is necessary, with the core being the police force responsible for combating high-tech crime. The public is urged to be vigilant, avoid participating in the aforementioned activities, and report any detected cases immediately to the nearest police station for resolution.