Burdened with a debt of over 13 million VND despite never having borrowed any money.

You still have to pay even if you didn't borrow.

More than a month has passed, but Mr. Bui Duc Thanh (residing in Quynh Thach commune, Quynh Luu district) is still upset about suddenly receiving a debt that came out of nowhere.

Speaking to reporters, Mr. Thanh recounted that on October 16, 2019, he received assistance from Vietnam Prosperity Bank's Financial Company Limited in issuing a credit card for consumer loans. This was because Mr. Thanh had previously purchased goods through installment loans from the company and had already settled the contract. Afterward, a company employee informed him that he could receive assistance in issuing a card to allow him to make installment purchases, borrow money, etc., and Mr. Thanh agreed.

Mr. Bui Duc Thanh expressed his frustration at having to pay a debt of over 13 million VND even though he didn't borrow any money. (Photo: PB)

After receiving the card, almost every week someone claiming to be an employee of a financial company would call Mr. Thanh, informing him that he could borrow money, buy goods on installments, etc. “They called in the morning, at noon, and in the evening, at any time. On January 8, 2020, while I was at work, someone called my phone number again. This was the number I had registered when I borrowed money from the company before, so the company could contact me to deliver the card,” Mr. Thanh recounted.

This person introduced themselves as an employee of Vietnam Prosperity Bank's Financial Company Limited and announced:"Are you Mr. Bui Duc Thanh? Your card hasn't been used for shopping, borrowing money, etc., for a long time. To avoid incurring card maintenance fees, please provide your information so I can block your card for you..."

Out of carelessness and not wanting to be bothered further, Mr. Thanh read out the code from the text message to the person. Afterward, a message arrived stating that 13,190,000 VND had been deducted from his card account.

The credit card was issued to Mr. Thanh by Vietnam Prosperity Bank's Financial Company Limited. Photo: PB

“Since I had never made a purchase or payment transaction using a card before, I didn't know much about OTP codes. But after reading the card code to this person, I suspected I was being scammed. Immediately afterward, this phone number continued to contact me and asked me to provide more information so he could block the card, but I didn't provide it and tried to contact Vietnam Prosperity Bank's Financial Company Limited via their hotline for assistance. However, I called many times but couldn't get through,” Mr. Thanh recounted.

On January 9, 2019, Mr. Thanh contacted the call center of Vietnam Prosperity Bank's Financial Company Limited and was told by a company employee that he had to wait another two business days because his transaction was pending in the system. Currently, the company could only help him block his card and could not provide any further assistance. Also on that day, someone continued to contact him using the phone number 0392243319, requesting him to provide the OTP code to block his card transaction.

“On January 11, 2019, an employee of Vietnam Prosperity Bank's Financial Services Limited informed me that the system had recorded my online purchase and payment at a Mobile World store. They also claimed that because I had provided the OTP code to someone else, I was responsible for this transaction and owed the company 13,190,000 VND. Now, I have to pay nearly 2.2 million VND each month even though I never made a purchase.”

Mr. Bui Duc Thanh

People need to be vigilant.

In fact, the type of scam that Mr. Thanh fell victim to is not new. On its website, Vietnam Prosperity Commercial Bank (VPBank) stated that recently, high-tech criminals have been continuously using sophisticated scams to exploit information and trick people into providing OTP codes to steal customer accounts and damage the reputation of banks. According to VPBank, one of the scams involves impersonating VPBank employees.

"Banks and credit institutions never ask customers to provide personal or confidential information such as bank account numbers, ATM card PINs, access codes, OTP codes, and Internet Banking passwords via email or phone. Therefore, receiving such requests means that fraudsters are trying to steal customers' assets deposited at the bank," VPBank warned.

To avoid risks, VPBank advises customers to absolutely not lend, use, or manage their bank cards to others; not to enter their login information (username, password for Internet Banking/Mobile Banking, OTP code, account number, etc.) into any website or link other than the VPBank website or the VPBank Online application; not to provide account information (login account, password, OTP code); and not to deposit, transfer money, or provide card information or OTP codes at the request of unknown callers claiming to be bank employees or partners, or requesting access to an unfamiliar website.

In Nghe An, Mr. Thanh's case is not unique. According to Mr. Thanh, when he reported the incident to the Quynh Luu District Police, the investigating officer informed him that the unit had received many reports of people being scammed using the same method, with some victims losing nearly 50 million VND.

"Although I know I'm partly to blame for this, I'm concerned about why my credit card information was leaked and exploited by malicious actors. Is there a possibility of customer information being leaked by the bank or the card issuer?" Mr. Thanh said.

Mr. Thanh went to the Quỳnh Lưu District Police Station to report the incident. Photo: PB

The head of the Criminal Police Department of Nghe An Provincial Police believes that the explosion of information technology has created conditions for high-tech crimes to increase in number, along with increasingly sophisticated methods and tactics, making them more difficult to prevent and combat.

"Along with the rapid development of modern banking services, high-tech fraud and crime are also on the rise in both quantity and form. Perpetrators are using sophisticated and audacious scams, especially exploiting customers' gullibility to steal confidential information and then misappropriate money from their accounts," said the head of the Criminal Police Department.

Along with VPBank, other banks such as Vietcombank, BIDV, Techcombank, etc., have also sent notifications to customers to warn them about scams involving impersonating bank employees to defraud customers. However, reality shows that many customers still fall victim to these scams due to their naivety, gullibility, and partly because they ignore the warnings from the banks.