An Giang police warn of AI‑deepfake Zalo account scams

On 14 May, the police of An Giang province in Vietnam issued a public warning about sophisticated scams that hijack users' Zalo accounts. Criminals first steal login credentials through phishing links, fake QR codes, OTP requests or malicious apps, then study the victim’s contacts and send messages or make video calls asking for urgent money transfers. They augment the ruse with artificial‑intelligence‑generated facial images and voice that mimic the account owner, making the deception harder to spot.

The targets are often individuals with high social standing—community leaders, officials or well‑connected professionals—whose contacts are more likely to trust the request. Victims have reported large financial losses after believing the AI‑enhanced video calls. An Giang police emphasized that “this method is very sophisticated,” and urged the public to never share passwords or OTP codes, avoid unknown links or QR scans, verify any money‑request through a separate phone call or in‑person contact, and enable strong passwords and security features while keeping the app updated.