Bank transfers are becoming more and more popular as people tend to spend money without cash and have more payment options. However, recently, criminals have been constantly taking advantage of technology to change their tricks to defraud and steal the assets of careless users.
Suspicious Transactions
Ms. Phung Thao, a sole proprietor in Thanh Hoa, said that recently her store has seen a number of cases where customers showed the transfer screen with confirmation of successful transfer to pick up goods but did not receive a balance notification and did not receive the money. This person then urged them to deliver the goods to go "because of urgent matters", so she became suspicious and insisted on only delivering the goods when the money was in the account.
"They showed the transaction screen with the correct information about the account number, recipient, amount and reported that it was successful, but I did not receive the balance. They said that maybe it was because it was the weekend or the transaction was outside of business hours so the money arrived late and then suggested that they deliver the goods because they were in a hurry," said Ms. Thao. Because her child had previously warned her about some online scams, she did not agree to deliver the goods to the customer. "After that, they left and showed their dissatisfaction," the store owner added.
Mr. Ngo Viet (Hanoi) who runs a toy business has also encountered many customers who "transfer money but never see the money in the bank". Viet said that in most cases, customers buy online, agree to pay in advance, send a screenshot of the successful payment, and then request immediate delivery. However, he only agrees to deliver the goods after confirming the change in the account balance.
"I tell my staff that every time a customer transfers money, they must report it for inspection and have my confirmation before the goods can be delivered, both to ensure that they do not lose anything and to avoid being fined for being deducted from their salary for violating regulations. There are a few people who come to buy at the store late in the afternoon, evening or on weekends, and when transferring money, they say that the money may be slow because it is a different bank or outside of business hours. But now, most banks can transfer money quickly, not like a decade ago when they gave the above reason," said Mr. Viet.
Website creates fake bank transfer interface and operates openly
Business people like Ms. Thao or Mr. Viet, thanks to their vigilance, have not fallen into the trap of criminals who want to steal their assets by faking the bank transfer interface. However, there have been some cases where shop staff or shop owners were careless, subjective and trusted the screenshots provided by customers and lost millions in transactions.
Publicly forged transfer invoices
Counterfeiting bank transfer screens is not a new trick, but it has become more sophisticated and has the help of online tools. If previously criminals had to use image editing software to change the content on the invoice, now they can easily create it through websites and groups that provide this service.
When searching with keywords related to transfer bills on Google, a series of results appear teaching and providing ways for users to "create bank bills". Notably, these websites all have content that acknowledges that creating transaction bills is illegal, but still continue to guide readers to do illegal things.
On a website specializing in fake bank bills, users only need to register an account (free) to use a series of services such as creating transfer screens, balance screens, balance fluctuations... These tasks require payment to the person behind the website from 20,000 VND to 100,000 VND for each result. In which, the price to create a transfer bill is 100,000 VND, those in need only need to choose the desired bank interface, provide the information they want to display such as name, sender/receiver account number, amount, transfer content, transaction time...
They are so sophisticated that they allow you to choose details like iOS or Android screenshots, battery capacity options to display on photos, number of signal bars...
According to a rare website that has removed the instructions (but left most of the other content), this service was originally intended for "virtual life" enthusiasts who show off sales figures or donated money online to "get likes", but was later exploited for fraudulent purposes.
Many cases have been detected.
As the scam has become more widespread, it has also been caught. According to the Thanh Hoa police website, the agency caught two people using fake bank transfer receipts to defraud local stores earlier this year.
This month, Hai Duong police also issued a warning about similar methods after breaking up a ring that specialized in the above acts. The group divided tasks with one person posing as a customer but not bringing cash, while the other stayed home to fake the money transfer screen. They targeted young shop owners - the group of people who use bank accounts and accept online payments.
Police advise people to always carefully check transfer receipts and only make transactions after making sure they have received the money in the bank they are using.
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