In the first 6 months of 2023, Agribank helped nearly 100 customers escape nearly 100 high-tech scams, protecting assets worth more than 10 billion VND in customer accounts.
Timely prevention of fraud at the "89th minute"
According to statistics, in 2022, Agribank helped prevent nearly 50 fraud cases that appropriated customers' assets worth more than 8 billion VND. But in just the first 6 months of 2023, the number of fraud cases doubled with nearly 100 customers, the amount of money "almost" appropriated reached more than 10 billion VND. This shows that fraud cases are increasing in both quantity and sophistication. Although Agribank has issued continuous warnings and recommendations, many people are still caught in the trap of increasingly sophisticated and diverse fraud tricks on cyberspace.
From pretending to make friends on social networks, pretending to send gifts from abroad and asking customers to transfer money to receive goods at customs, to impersonating police officers and authorities to call to threaten and blackmail people. From using high technology "deepfake" to impersonate relatives to borrow money to "hacking" SMS with fake brands, brandnames, websites, fanpages of banks and credit institutions. And more sophisticatedly, recently, fraudsters have also set up virtual software and applications to gradually steal users' personal information, automatically withdrawing money from customer accounts.
Agribank uses the eKYC “shield” to protect customers.
In fact, scammers have used very good tricks to manipulate users' psychology. They carefully study users, grasp personal information, gradually approach, get acquainted, and finally expose the scam, luring customers to "withdraw" their wallets to pay them. According to statistics, over 50% of scams against customers at Agribank originate from impersonating authorities to manipulate psychology and blackmail customers. There have been many cases of falling into the trap of scammers impersonating police officers and investigators, who have taken steps to prepare to transfer money. However, when going to the bank to withdraw savings and open a money transfer account, thanks to the vigilance and proactive recognition of strange signs of customers, Agribank staff quickly grasped the situation, reported to the police, and promptly prevented the scam at the "89th minute".
Accordingly, since the beginning of the year, Agribank Bac Thanh Hoa branch has promptly prevented 5 cases of impersonating functional officials with the amount of money "saved" being more than 800 million VND, while the number of cases exposed at Agribank Tuyen Quang branch is 4 fraud cases, protecting nearly 1.2 billion VND for customers, Ba Vi - Ha Tay 1 branch has promptly supported 2 customers to escape fraud by the skin of their teeth with the amount of more than 1.3 billion VND. Most recently, Cho Chay transaction office (Ung Hoa, Hanoi) has clearly detected and promptly prevented a case of impersonating police officers to threaten veterans with the amount of 600 million VND.
Recounting the story of being "psychologically manipulated" and "enticement" by the scammer, Mr. NXN (born in 1952, a veteran in Than village, Minh Duc commune, Ung Hoa, Hanoi) is still in shock. He said that at around 8:00 a.m. on July 27, 2023, he received a call from a strange phone number, the caller introduced himself as an investigative police officer of the Ministry of Public Security and a police officer of the Criminal Police Department of Hanoi Police (address at 7 Thien Quang). The subject said that he was involved in a case that the Ministry of Public Security was investigating, demanding that he transfer 600,000,000 VND (Six hundred million VND) or he would be temporarily detained. Fearing arrest, Mr. N took all the cash, gold and savings book and went to the bank to withdraw money to transfer to the subject claiming to be a police officer. After listening to the bank staff's coordination with Dong Tan Commune Police to advise and explain, Mr. N calmed down and did not make any more money transfers. All of his money, gold, and savings books were preserved and he continued to trust and save at Agribank.
Agribank regularly updates timely warning/recommendation forms to support customers.
Another popular form of fraud is the form of making friends on Facebook and sending gifts from abroad, defrauding people in Vietnam to transfer money to pay customs. Since the beginning of the year, Agribank has prevented 22 cases with a total amount of nearly 1 billion VND. The cases were carried out across the country, from Lang Son, Cao Bang, Bac Kan, Tuyen Quang, Hoa Binh, Thai Binh, Bac Giang to large cities such as Hanoi, Hai Phong, ... and are increasingly transformed into many different forms. Due to the explosion of technology, fraud methods are constantly being "upgraded" and transformed into more sophisticated forms to overcome the "psychological" round to successfully carry out the fraud of "draining" customers' wallets. However, with these forms, when customers go to the counter to make money transfers, they are fortunately quickly detected by the Bank staff, and prevented in time, avoiding "losing money and getting in trouble".
Forming “shields” to protect customers
Faced with the "hot" developments of criminals using high technology to defraud and appropriate customers' assets, Agribank has identified the work of ensuring the safety of customers' assets and preventing high-tech crimes as a priority that needs to be focused on in all activities. Agribank continuously issues many warnings and recommendations to customers to raise awareness of customers using banking services on Agribank's official communication channels: Agribank website, Agribank News visual bulletin, Agribank's official social networking sites and Agribank's system of more than 2,000 transaction points nationwide.
Mr. NXN was helped by Agribank officers and Dong Tan Commune Police (Ung Hoa District, Hanoi) to escape the trap of a subject who called impersonating the police to threaten and demand money transfer.
This can be considered a dose of "Digital Vaccine" that Agribank is deploying towards the criteria of improving customers' knowledge, skills, awareness and ability to prevent when using payment services on platforms and software in cyberspace. Through the "Digital Vaccine" provided by Agribank, customers will form a filter of information they need to read and listen to, thereby proactively eliminating toxic information that affects their own assets.
Determining digital transformation along with simultaneously enhancing strict security for customers, Agribank has always carefully applied modern and advanced technology in its products, services and quality. Together with the banking industry, Agribank has promoted the implementation of eKYC to support customers in online transactions (opening online accounts, registering for online banking services, etc.). Along with that, Agribank also sets out requirements to ensure safety for customers such as combining authentication with real people, that is, customers need to go to Agribank's transaction points to complete eKYC, ensuring the right person and the right account. In addition to the authentication requirements, Agribank also limits the online money transfer limit when customers have not completed eKYC authentication to minimize unusual transaction activities. Only then will electronic authentication be stricter.
With the strong participation of authorities at all levels, Agribank officials across the country are always highly aware of their responsibility in building timely "shields" to protect customers' assets, regularly and proactively updating information on new forms of fraud to strengthen propaganda work, instructing customers to be vigilant against sophisticated fraud tricks of criminals. In particular, Agribankers are always cautious of unusual transactions of customers, skillfully investigating and supporting customers in situations of fraud and property appropriation.
PV
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