Almost got scammed and had my bank account taken over

Ms. H. is working at a unit on Tran Hung Dao Street (Hai Duong City). She just received a phone call from a delivery woman saying that she had ordered a package in advance but due to the storm, it could only be delivered now. Confirming that it was the same store and the same clothes she had ordered, Ms. H. agreed to receive it. Through the security camera of the agency, Ms. H. saw two women with their faces covered delivering the package. Ms. H. then transferred money to the account number provided by the delivery person.

Immediately after the successful transfer, a man called Ms. H. to say that the shipper had provided the wrong account number, so after Ms. H. transferred the money, she was automatically a member of the store, she was given a preferential shopping card, but each month 3.5 million VND would be deducted from her account. To delete the membership card, Ms. H. needed to scan the QR code provided by the subject via Zalo. Following these instructions, Ms. H. continued to fill in the information (ID number, photo; phone number; bank account number...). Next, the subject said that to complete the card cancellation process, Ms. H. called a video call for support. Suspecting that she was being scammed, Ms. H. said that she would only transfer money to the account number provided by the shipper, and if any transactions occurred, she would report to the bank and the police.

Because a colleague reminded her, Ms. H. immediately stopped. Later, when Ms. H. called back, the subject had turned off the phone. When talking to a bank officer, Ms. H. learned that if she made a video call, the subject could collect biometrics to break in and steal money from her account.

This is not a new trick, but if people are not alert, they will fall into the trap of the scammers. The Department of Information Security (Ministry of Information and Communications) has recommended: Before providing personal information, you need to know exactly who the requester is; do not share personal information, especially biometric information via email, text messages or phone. When detecting signs of fraud, people need to immediately report to the authorities to track down the subject and promptly prevent...