Why the Ministry of Finance and the Security Department's website with a blue tick is still a scam?

Fake Ministry of Finance fanpage still has Facebook blue tick.

On the evening of March 31, the Government Information page warned people about the appearance of a fake fanpage of the Ministry of Finance. Notably, this account has a blue tick, which is a certificate of transparency, authenticity, and anti-fraud on the platform.

In fact, lax management policies and verification loopholes can allow some fake and fraudulent pages to obtain verification marks. Users need to be vigilant when using social networks, and not rely solely on the "blue tick" to completely trust, provide information or transfer money.

Ministry of Finance, Security Department forgery

In mid-March, domestic users saw an advertisement from an account with the Department of Security - Ministry of Public Security. The post had instructions for victims to get back their money that had been scammed, and recover “stuck” assets on stock apps, Shopee, Lazada tasks. Notably, the account had a Facebook verification stamp. Therefore, users easily believed that this was an official fanpage.

However, when checking the transparency of the page, the results showed that it had been renamed. The administrator's position was also in Cambodia instead of Vietnam. On March 26, the Department of Cyber ​​Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention posted a warning. Specifically, the authorities confirmed that the above page was fake and did not belong to the administrative unit.

Fake warning post from the Security Department.

Facebook has previously verified the fanpage. After that, it can be sold or hijacked. The platform policy loophole allows criminals to take advantage of it, changing the name to the Security Department while still keeping the blue tick. With YouTube, once the account changes identity, the verification is no longer there.

In the case of the Ministry of Finance fanpage, the page's transparency information section does not record any name changes. However, this cannot help confirm the owner.

Specifically, since early 2023, Meta has switched to renting verification stamps, instead of granting them to pages and celebrities. However, the service has not yet appeared in Vietnam.

“People in need can still easily get a blue tick by creating a blank account, switching to a country that has opened the service such as Australia, Japan, or the US to pay the fee. The same method can also be applied to fanpages,” Mr. Mai Thanh Phu, the administrator of many large Facebook pages, told Tri Thuc - ZNews.

In the case of the Ministry of Finance impersonation, this person said that the scammer used the trick of renting blue ticks. The cost is currently very cheap, only 12 USD /month.

"Blue tick" is not necessarily the owner

Before Facebook launched Meta Verify, the blue tick was very valuable. In addition to proving ownership, these pages also had the right to advertise livestreams. This was a service sought after by online sellers, helping them reach a large number of users.

During the 2019-2021 period, many unusual incidents occurred when the pages with millions of followers of former Chelsea player Ivanovic, Polish artist Natalia Szroede, Korean singer Zico, and the J.League football tournament were "requisitioned" by Vietnamese online shop owners to sell clothes and dresses.

Ivanovic's blue-ticked page was hijacked by Vietnamese people to livestream and sell products. Photo: Trong Hung.

Currently, Facebook is open, allowing personal accounts, and has enabled professional mode to run direct ads. Therefore, the demand for fanpages with blue ticks is not much anymore. However, fake cases continue. The page suspected of impersonating Japanese adult film actress Eimi Fukada, French player Kylian Mbappe posted controversial posts, and has a Vietnamese administrator.

On the other hand, with the current practice of renting verification stamps, the blue tick is no longer a guarantee of the site's "reputation". Authorities regularly warn users about sophisticated scams and constantly changing scenarios of cross-border operators.

Source: https://znews.vn/vi-sao-trang-bo-tai-chinh-cuc-an-ninh-co-tick-xanh-van-la-la-lua-dao-post1542312.html