Warning of fraud 'following' biometrics

16.6 million accounts have been “matched”

According to information from the State Bank of Vietnam, currently more than 87% of adults have a payment account at a bank and many banks have processed more than 95% of transactions on digital channels. Non-cash payments have grown strongly, especially in the number of payment transactions via mobile (Mobile) and QR code, reaching an average of more than 100%/year from 2017 to 2023.

However, in addition to the benefits and conveniences that online banking products and services bring, the banking industry also faces risks and challenges related to security, safety, and confidentiality in the face of cyber attacks, the use of high technology to defraud and appropriate people's money and bank accounts, and increasingly sophisticated and complex tricks.

Therefore, to protect customers using banking services, from July 1, banks will require biometric authentication for money transfers of VND10 million or more. Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Pham Tien Dung said that biometric authentication is necessary, adding an additional layer of protection, so it will be safer. In case customers lose their documents or are brought to the bank by bad guys to fake them to defraud money, it will be difficult to do so because there is facial biometrics to confirm whether the owner is the owner or not. Customers who do not have a chip-embedded citizen identification card have been instructed and supported by the bank when making transactions of over VND10 million.

As of 5:00 p.m. on July 3, 16.6 million bank accounts had been checked and compared with data from the Ministry of Public Security to eliminate fake accounts that were not owned by the owner, created with fake documents, etc. Statistics show that in the first 3 days of July, the entire system performed an average of about 23 million transactions per day, of which over 1.9 million transactions were over 10 million VND, accounting for 8.2% of the total transaction value, higher than the average of June 2024. "Only over 8% of transactions required biometric authentication, while nearly 92% were normal transactions, so there was no congestion. Some local congestion cases on the first day of application were handled, and by July 2-3, basically all transactions were smooth," Mr. Dung added.

Although the mandatory biometric authentication requirement only started on July 1, immediately, on the cyberspace, there were cases of subjects taking advantage of customers' difficulties in updating biometric information to appropriate information. Some banks such as Vietcombank, Agribank... have warned customers about subjects impersonating bank employees to contact them to support information updates, thereby asking customers to provide personal information, service information or send fake links to defraud and appropriate assets.

Biometrics to protect customers

Lieutenant Colonel Trieu Manh Tung - Deputy Director of the Department of Cyber ​​Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention, Ministry of Public Security said that cyber security risks in the current context are very high. If the opening of accounts and the use of accounts for transactions are not managed properly, any criminal can take advantage. According to comrade Tung, fraud and appropriation of money in banking accounts has now become a "money-making profession" for many subjects. Fraudsters are increasingly professional, the scale of each organization is up to hundreds of people, sitting in offices, with clear roles and tasks: There are groups specializing in researching scenarios; there are groups trained to carry out fraud scenarios, responding to situations after a few months of apprenticeship; there are groups handling cash flow... The scenarios are "created" very quickly by fraudsters. Specifically, the banking industry has only implemented biometric authentication since July 1, and immediately there has been a form of fraud in which impersonating bank officials to guide people in biometric authentication. The impersonators are also increasingly professional and proficient.

Previously, scammers impersonating police and inspectors were easily detected because they used many incorrect concepts and commands, but now, all commands and specialized terms are used almost completely correctly. The processing of money flows is also handled very quickly by scammers. After the fraudulent money is transferred to the recipient's account (all of which are accounts that are not the owner's, purchased from someone else), it only takes a few seconds for the money to spread in all directions.

For example, in 2023, the Department of Cyber ​​Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention (Ministry of Public Security) coordinated with Quang Binh Police to discover an online fraud ring with 300 subjects. Therefore, according to comrade Tung, it is extremely important for the banking industry to implement biometric authentication requirements for money transfers of over VND 10 million/transaction or total transaction value of over VND 20 million per day.

From the management agency side, the State Bank said that in the coming time, in order to promote and enhance the security, safety and confidentiality of banking services in cyberspace, the State Bank will continue to focus on the following key tasks: Investing in perfecting the information technology infrastructure of credit institutions and payment intermediary organizations; at the same time upgrading and developing payment infrastructure to ensure continuous, smooth, safe operations, seamless and continuous connection with other sectors and fields (such as public services, healthcare, education, e-commerce, etc.) and cross-border payment connections to meet the needs of using diverse banking services...