Vietnam Police Warn of Online Scam Tactics Impersonating Officials

Vietnam online scams impersonation of officials QR code fraud charity donation fraud business registration scam

Police forces across Vietnam—including the public security offices of Phú Thọ, Hanoi, Ninh Bình and Sơn La—have issued a coordinated warning about a surge in sophisticated online scams. Fraudsters impersonate government officials or agency staff, sending messages or making phone calls that claim to assist with pension, social‑insurance, business‑registration or tax‑e‑service procedures. Victims are urged not to answer calls from unknown numbers, not to add strangers on Zalo or Facebook, and not to provide personal identification, OTP codes, passwords or bank details.

Common tactics include fake promotion or charity appeals, the use of fabricated documents and official‑looking web pages, QR‑code requests that obscure on‑screen transaction details, and video calls designed to capture personal images for extortion. Reported losses range from 585 million VND to nearly 600 million VND. Authorities advise citizens to verify the authenticity of any request, to use only official government portals, to keep any messages, phone numbers, URLs or QR codes as evidence, and to report suspected fraud to the police immediately.

Entities: Công an tỉnh Ninh Bình · Công an tỉnh Phú Thọ · Công an tỉnh Quảng Ninh · Công an tỉnh Sơn La · Hanoi Administrative Service Center · Hanoi Police · Ninh Binh Police · Phú Thọ Provincial Police · Phú Thọ Public Security · Quảng Ninh Provincial Police · Son La Police · Sơn La Commune People's Committee

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.

[● 9 SOURCES] Vietnamese police have issued warnings about online scams using fake messages from strangers. (da14707e-dc75-4b0e-8f4a-573ffedffb99,7030f863-18fc-405e-94c5-502d298b2b5f,a609c4c8-9625-4460-bb37-ce429861a45a,e83d45d6-)
[● 7 SOURCES] Police advise citizens not to answer calls from unknown numbers nor accept friend requests on Zalo or Facebook from strangers. (ef342ce1-bd1b-4a30-8b64-f41d5d269e4e)
[○ 1 SOURCE] Authorities recommend verifying the authenticity of charity fundraisers before transferring money. (284a3b83-6b28-43a5-aba2-a94e09a036c9)
[● 2 SOURCES] Victims are asked to transfer money before receiving promised goods, rewards or charitable aid, leading to loss of funds. (da14707e-dc75-4b0e-8f4a-573ffedffb99, 284a3b83-6b28-43a5-aba2-a94e09a036c9)
[● 3 SOURCES] Scammers impersonate companies, charities, or officials on social media to solicit money from victims. (da14707e-dc75-4b0e-8f4a-573ffedffb99, 284a3b83-6b28-43a5-aba2-a94e09a036c9, ef342ce1-bd1b-4a30-8b64-f41d5d269e4e)
[● 2 SOURCES] Scammers may conduct video calls to collect personal images for fraud. (e83d45d6-8ac8-4b02-ac97-577fea3afe2a)
[○ 1 SOURCE] Fraudulent phone‑tracking software advertised online promises to read messages and locate phones but is a scam that steals money and data. (c3a8e881-7bfd-4992-8e80-74d0514fba18)
[● 8 SOURCES] Scammers request personal data, OTP codes, passwords, or ask victims to install unknown applications. (7030f863-18fc-405e-94c5-502d298b2b5f, 7853586b-2f5c-453b-a34b-9e1ced8b9f1c, ef342ce1-bd1b-4a30-8b64-f41d5d269e4e)
[● 7 SOURCES] Police advise people not to provide personal ID, OTP or click unknown links and to report scams to authorities.
[● 3 SOURCES] Fraudulent business registration and tax filing assistance scams use counterfeit documents and fake websites such as “dangkythuedientu.com”.
[● 2 SOURCES] Charity fundraising scams involve fake social‑media accounts asking for donations to personal bank accounts.
[● 3 SOURCES] Scammers use QR code scanning to hide money‑transfer actions and trick victims into sending funds.