Ministry of Public Security warns against sharing identity card photos

The Ministry of Public Security has issued a warning regarding increasing scams involving the unauthorized collection of personal identification data. Fraudsters are reportedly impersonating police officers, government officials, or service providers to trick citizens into sharing photos of their citizen identity cards (CCCD), portraits, bank account information, or authentication codes via messaging apps like Zalo and Messenger.

Criminals exploit the high volume of data contained in chip-based identity cards, including full names, dates of birth, and identification numbers. Once obtained, these images can be used for various high-tech crimes, such as applying for fraudulent loans through unregulated apps, registering unauthorized mobile subscriptions that incur massive debts for the victim, or creating fake business tax IDs to facilitate invoice fraud.

Authorities advise citizens to never share photos of their identity documents with strangers and to immediately delete or recall any sensitive images accidentally posted online or sent via messaging platforms to mitigate financial and legal risks.