HÀ NỘI – The Ministry of Public Security has warned of three common scams in Việt Nam - counterfeit products, account hijacking and other forms of combined traps.

Scammers will target anyone, including elderly people, children, students, workers and office workers, the ministry said.

In the first six months of 2023, the number of online frauds surged 64.78 per cent year on year and 37.82 per cent over the second half of 2022.

Common tricks include offering cheap travel combos, deepfake videos, stealing SIM card information, pretending to be an organisation such as a bank, a State agency, or a securities company and sending fraudulent SMS messages to victims. It also includes forging websites or blogs to trick victims and collect their personal information.

Scammers often pretend to be a teacher or medical worker reporting that a family member is in the hospital, or play the role of recruiters to hire young models.

Fraudsters also use phone numbers and pretend to be authorities, police, and telecommunications providers to report fake violations and demand fines.

According to the ministry, scammers tend to trick users rather than hack into devices. Social engineering, such as phishing, is much easier than hacking for scammers.

It advised Internet users not to share their personal information, to set up strong passwords, and apply more robust security to prevent information loss. VNS