Recently, many users have reported being bothered by calls offering securities, tour discount coupons, sales collaborators, lucky draws, etc. from morning to night. They are not even spared on weekends!
Being disturbed at all hours
Mr. Nguyen Thanh Trung - sales manager of a delivery company in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City - said that from around 9 am onwards, calls inviting him to invest in virtual currency, stocks or buy cheap real estate in Ho Chi Minh City from unknown numbers continuously came in, causing him to miss several important calls from partners because he thought they were spam calls and did not answer. This affected his work.
"Early April, I thought the phone number calling was from a junk SIM card so I turned off my phone, but it was actually from a partner who needed to process paperwork. Since then, I have been forced to answer calls from unknown numbers, but every time I answer, I get annoyed. In less than a month, I have blocked more than 60 junk SIM numbers, mainly starting with 033, 036, 024, 028..." - Mr. Trung said. Mr. Xuan Hao - an office worker in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City - shared that most of the calls from junk SIMs are scams, impersonating authorities, asking to come to the headquarters to identify the account to level 2, fine them, invite them to invest in virtual currency projects with high profit commitments... "Last Sunday morning, before I could wake up, I received a call from a person named Thanh, number 02488869xx, informing me that I was lucky enough to win the special prize of a Wave Alpha 125i motorbike worth more than 23 million VND. To receive the prize, this person asked me to join Telegram and make friends with an account named "Bich Tram" to receive the winning link. Before that, while I was taking a nap, someone claiming to be a Ho Chi Minh City Police officer asked me to come to the headquarters to pay a fine for driving through a red light in Da Nang, while I don't know how to drive a car" - Mr. Hao said. Ms. Thuy Binh - living in Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City - said that calls from junk SIM cards have greatly affected her work and life. "At noon, I need to rest to regain strength to work in the afternoon, but I also get calls inviting me to participate in cryptocurrency investment, free summer tours or opening credit cards, which makes me crazy" - Ms. Binh was upset.
According to many users, due to being warned, they have limited sharing personal information on social networks, but the callers from junk SIMs know exactly their names and the province/city where they live. Junk SIMs are also constantly changed, more sophisticatedly calling with the prefix 096, 090, 091... for users to answer the phone. The frequency of receiving junk calls is increasing, affecting the work and rest time of users.
Users are still bothered by "spam" calls despite blocking them in many ways.
Need layered protection mechanism
According to information security expert Huynh Trong Thua, the reason why user information is leaked, leaked and attacked by spam SIM calls may come from the fact that they previously provided information when registering for a service or at an event of unknown origin on a website or social network. Another reason may also be that information is leaked from the unit that owns the user data.
According to Mr. Thua, the regulations on ensuring user information security for each organization and enterprise are still not strict enough, there needs to be a mechanism and policy to protect user data in layers. For example, for the reception level, only the right to view the customer's phone number and name is assigned; at a higher level, the date of birth, ID card information, etc. can be obtained, along with the responsibility for confidentiality. However, very few enterprises in Vietnam apply this because it creates additional technology and control processes, making the workload more complicated, increasing costs, etc. "State management agencies need to resolutely intervene, inspect and examine the level and policies of data information security strictly, such as checking alcohol concentration for telecommunications corporations and units that hold large user information. In addition, enterprises need to decentralize the right to view data to limit risks for users" - Mr. Thua proposed.
Mr. Nguyen Huu Nguyen, Deputy Director of the Vietnam Cyber Security Emergency Response Center (VNCERT), said that users are now quite comfortable posting their information on social networking platforms, unintentionally causing them to be continuously attacked by spam calls, and also being exploited by bad guys for fraud. Besides, there are still cases where certain units have sold customer data including names, phone numbers and emails to other parties for profit. "Users should limit providing their full names and phone numbers on untrustworthy websites and applications. Read the terms of use carefully before agreeing to share personal information. Most phones have a call blocking feature, users can use this method to block specific phone numbers or suspicious prefixes" - Mr. Nguyen recommended.
According to experts, users should not listen to or respond to unknown numbers because it will only annoy them more when they are included in the group of potential customers. In addition, there needs to be a coordinated effort from state management agencies, businesses, and users in handling spam calls and spam messages to limit risks to themselves and others.
Sign up to not receive promotional calls
The Department of Information Security - Ministry of Information and Communications has deployed a Do Not Call (DNC) list management system, allowing all subscribers to register to block spam calls and annoying advertising messages by texting DK DNC to 5656. With just this action, users will be added to the Do Not Call list. In addition, users can access the website khongquangcao.ais.gov.vn., "Manage Do Not Call List", enter their phone number and click Register.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/cuoc-goi-rac-van-tung-hoanh-196240528211840691.htm
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