New scam 'scan QR code sent in mail' appears in some localities

Informing VietNamNet , a representative of the Department of Information Security (Ministry of Information and Communications) said: Online fraud is always changing, intertwining new and old, and new, more sophisticated scams often appear. Updating information and knowledge to identify fraud forms will help each person know how to protect themselves when participating in cyberspace.

In the content of 'Weekly News' from March 4 to March 11, the Department of Information Security recommends users to be vigilant against 5 forms of online fraud:

Lost billions with online financial investment fraud

Recently, many people living in Hanoi have been scammed out of several billion to tens of billions of dong when investing online, some even had 57 billion dong stolen by scammers.

Some fraud methods related to financial investment, virtual currency, and cryptocurrency include: Multi-level marketing of virtual currency and cryptocurrency disguised online to appropriate assets; fraud through the activities of foreign exchange exchanges, binary options, etc.

Although the tricks of the subjects are not new, they are very sophisticated, so many social network users are still deceived. The subjects set up trading floors and websites that impersonate international trading floors, then assign the telesales staff to call and invite investors to join consulting groups, exchange via Zalo and Telegram. After investors join the group, the subjects and members of the group continuously text and call to persuade investors to make financial investment transactions, buy and sell virtual currency, and cryptocurrency in order to appropriate assets.

The Information Security Department recommends that people always be vigilant and cautious before any investment proposals or introductions through any form, especially online; carefully research the owner and management company before investing. People also need to equip themselves with knowledge about finance and investment. When feeling uncertain, they should consult a financial expert or lawyer to make smart, safe decisions and avoid the risk of fraud.

Many people still fall into the trap of scams to get their money back

According to the Department of Information Security, in cyberspace, there are still many people who have been scammed once but continue to be scammed a second time and many other times by groups impersonating cyber security forces, law offices and banks... One thing in common among the subjects using this form of fraud is that they all introduce themselves as having close relationships with many authorities.

Affirming that 'support to get back the money that was scammed' is one of the forms of online fraud that the unit has repeatedly issued warnings about, the Information Security Department recommends that people absolutely do not provide personal information to anyone through any form, because information disclosure will lead to many unpredictable consequences.

In addition, if you receive a call or contact a group providing services on social networks, do not transfer money to the subject without investigating and verifying. In case of suspected fraud, you should contact the police for timely advice and support.

QR code scanning scam appears on winning coupons in mail

In early March, many Facebook users in Vietnam shared information warning about a new form of fraud: Sending packages to people's homes through shippers (goods transporters), inside there is a winning notification containing a QR code; when people scan this QR code, their devices will be taken over, thereby having their information and assets stolen.

The above scam was later confirmed to not be fake news, when the police of Ha Tinh province and Thu Duc city (HCMC) issued a warning stating that some local residents had received parcels with winning coupons attached to QR codes, requiring recipients to scan the QR code to access the link and provide personal information to complete the prize receiving procedure.

Although there have been no recorded cases of users being scammed online by scanning QR codes on winning coupons in packages sent via shippers, the Information Security Department also stated: " The possibility of QR codes being printed in gift vouchers to trick people into accessing fake websites in order to steal information and assets is entirely possible."

Because QR code fraud is no longer a new form of fraud. In the past, many users, after scanning QR codes on websites or emails, were redirected to a fraudulent website, and had their account information stolen or were lured into downloading malware to their devices.

To avoid QR code fraud, the Information Security Department recommends that people be cautious when scanning codes, especially QR codes in public places or shared via social networks or email. Users also need to carefully check the account information of the QR code sender, the content of the website the QR code is sent to; check the link to see if it starts with "https" and is a familiar domain name. In addition, with the new version - fraud via QR codes on winning coupons in postal items, people should also note that they should not accept postal items of unknown origin.

Impersonating high-ranking leaders to trick people into supporting them in 'fixing cases'

NTH (27 years old, residing in Thua Thien Hue) was recently arrested by Dak Lak Police for fraud and appropriation of property by impersonating state leaders to help with cases. To carry out the fraud, the subject created many fake accounts on social networks with pictures of several leaders, then texted the victims' families, introducing himself as having the ability to intervene to reduce the sentence. With this trick, NTH defrauded and appropriated hundreds of millions of dong.

Emphasizing that people must be more vigilant because cyberspace is increasingly complex, the Information Security Department also recommends that people learn and equip themselves with knowledge to protect themselves online; and most importantly, people absolutely do not provide personal information. When receiving strange calls or contacting groups providing services on social networks, people should not make money transfers at the request of the subject, but should 'slow down' to learn and verify the identity of that subject.

Financial investment scams targeting dating app users

Recently, taking advantage of the increasing number of people using online dating applications, subjects have committed fraud and property appropriation. Specifically, after making friends, talking and gaining trust with victims through popular dating applications such as Tinder, EzMatch, Litmatch or Hullo, the subjects switch to encouraging victims to participate in financial investments.

When the victim agrees to invest, the interest is immediately refunded to increase trust. But when the victim spends a large amount of money, the subjects give many reasons to appropriate the property such as 'upgrading the VIP package', 'returning the investment support fund'... In fact, there have been victims who have been scammed out of large sums of money, for example, a woman living in Hanoi was scammed out of 5.4 billion VND by a friend she met through the Tinder application.

Faced with the above situation, the Information Security Department recommends that people be vigilant when participating in online dating applications; at the same time, do not participate in financial investment applications, international trading floors that are advertised with high interest rates, which pose a risk of fraud. If fraud is detected, people should immediately report it to the police to quickly verify, prevent and handle violators.

The truth about the new online scam that is being widely shared by netizens . Experts have not recorded any cases of users being scammed online by scanning QR codes on winning coupons in packages sent by shippers. However, people still need to be vigilant about strange packages and gratitude programs of unknown origin.

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