The truth about calls from strange numbers that caused users to lose all the money in their accounts

Impersonating police, police officers, and local authorities to make extortion calls and demand personal information is not new, but it still continuously traps many people. This also makes many people more vigilant against calls from unknown numbers.

However, caution must also be based on accurate information. Recently, there has been a lot of information circulating on the internet with the content: Just by answering the phone from an unknown number, your bank account can be emptied.

Original text message: "This icon calls, I just need to press accept the call and all the money in my account will be lost because it is artificial intelligence that can search for all the secrets in my phone. It focuses on searching in the banking app, getting the password to transfer all the money from my bank account to the hackers' account. Everyone take note and warn your relatives: wait for it to stop ringing and then block the number."

Regarding this information, Mr. Vu Ngoc Son, Head of Technology Department, National Cyber ​​Security Association (NCA) affirmed that this is a type of untrue rumor, the goal is to create a sensational story, stimulating the recipient to continue spreading it to their friends as soon as they receive the fake news. This helps fake news spread in the community through users sharing themselves.

"In reality, no call can get money or bank accounts or passwords," Mr. Son emphasized.

Listening to a call will only put the listener at risk of losing their assets if they are tricked into providing important personal information, accessing malicious links, or downloading unknown apps as directed by criminals.

These actions can infect the device with malware, leading to the exposure of personal data and important information. Malware can take control of the device, track the victim's activities, and cause serious long-term damage.

Therefore, the National Cyber ​​Security Association recommends that when you need to install software, you should directly access the official application stores or the official websites provided by the manufacturer. Regularly update the operating system to patch vulnerabilities, install reputable anti-virus software and periodically back up data to minimize damage when attacked.

Although state management agencies have continuously reviewed and requested updates on subscriber information to strictly handle junk phone numbers and prevent spam, there is still a phenomenon of people hiring people to register phone numbers with their own information, then buying them back for use.

Therefore, users need to be careful, do not talk to calls without identification numbers (brand name) or not in the contact list (unknown numbers). Note that state management agencies do not work with people over the phone. Immediately end the call if the content is not related to your needs to avoid being scammed. You can use the call blocking features on your phone, or use spam call blocking applications such as nTrust for automatic protection.

In addition, with the development of artificial intelligence, high-tech criminals are using Deepfake to create fake videos with faces and voices that look exactly like someone else. Thanks to this technology, they not only stop at regular calls, but also make fake video calls to commit financial fraud, causing many people to fall into the trap. Therefore, every citizen needs to be extremely vigilant in the context of increasingly developing technology and increasingly sophisticated criminal behavior as it is today.

According to a survey by the National Cyber ​​Security Association, 1 in 220 users will be a victim of online fraud, a rate of 0.45%. The total damage caused by online fraud in 2024 is estimated at VND 18,900 billion. In fact, the number of victims of fraud is large, but the number of people who can get their money back is very small.