Scammers are using the government’s VND100,000 (US$3.8) National Day gift announcement to steal personal and bank account details, the HCMC police have warned.
They are sending social media messages and emails to victims to claim the prize, asking them to fill in information but with malicious links, they said in a release Friday.
Victims’ bank and other login details and passwords might be stolen if they click on the link, they said.
Criminals are also impersonating government, police and bank officials and calling people to “guide them on how to receive the gift.”
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A person installs a government app on a smartphone. Photo by VnExpress/Luu Quy |
They typically ask for the authenticator code from the victims to steal money from their bank accounts.
They also set up fake social media pages or websites posing as authorities to collect personal information.
The police advised citizens to only depend on information from government agencies and banks.
People should never click on unknown links, download apps from unverified sources or provide bank account numbers, passwords or authenticator codes, they warned.
The Politburo approved a cash gift of VND100,000 to all Vietnamese citizens to mark the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day, Sept. 2.
People are required to have a level-2 account on national ID app VNeID and a bank account linked with the Social Security benefits section on it to receive the gift.
Nearly 20 banks are linked with the system.
With its population of 100 million, it will cost Vietnam VND10 trillion.
