Vietnam identity card data theft warnings

The Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security and provincial police departments have issued warnings regarding the misuse of chip-based citizen identity cards (CCCD) for fraudulent purposes.

Initially, authorities warned against scams where criminals impersonate officials or service providers via messaging apps like Zalo and Messenger to solicit photos of identity cards, bank details, or authentication codes. Such data theft facilitates high-tech crimes, including fraudulent loan applications, unauthorized mobile subscriptions, and invoice fraud through fake business tax IDs.

Following this, police in An Giang and Gia Lai provinces highlighted a specific risk involving social media trends on TikTok. Users participating in challenges or identity verification trends have been filming or displaying close-up images of their CCCD. Officials warned that these videos expose sensitive information, such as QR codes and personal identification numbers, which can be exploited for identity theft and the opening of illegal bank accounts. Authorities advise citizens to obscure sensitive details when sharing documents and to tighten social media privacy settings.