According to Colonel Tran Hong Minh, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Public Security, fraudsters have leveraged AI technology to create higher-quality videos, flawless and logical phishing messages and emails with deep personalisation. They exploit current events and specific opportunities to craft scam narratives which have not been warned, with recent examples including pretending as banks to request biometric verification updates and businesses seeking to adjust customer data amidst administrative mergers.

Scammers even shift their targets to children, who are more vulnerable, creating new forms of online kidnapping or impersonating officials from police, prosecutors’ offices, courts, or customs to intimidate victims into transferring money, he added.

Cybersecurity specialist Ngo Minh Hieu, Director of the Chongluadao.vn project, said that hackers today can easily access new tools and operate in organised groups, adding they track real-time news and local developments, making it difficult for people to detect.

Statistics from the Department of Cyber Security and Hi-tech Crime Prevention under the Ministry of Public Security, show that Vietnam recorded more than 1,500 online scams in the first eight months of this year, a year-on-year surge of 65%, with estimated losses exceeding VND 1.6 trillion (USD 60.8 million). Over 4,532 malicious domains were detected, a 90% increase, employing sophisticated techniques including deepfakes, cryptocurrency fraud, OTP theft, and impersonation of police or banking institutions. Beyond financial damage, cybercrime threatens digital trust and the national digital transformation process.

Minh stressed that the municipal police has paid due attention to the communications work, raising public awareness against the scam tactics to reduce damage. Besides, the force will also intensify investigations, arrests, and settlement of crimes, especially emerging threats like online kidnapping.

From his experience, Hieu urged a nationwide movement against scams to encourage people to verify information before sending money or sharing personal data. The campaign, launched by the Vietnam Television Centre in Ho Chi Minh City, brings together the National Cybersecurity Association, local police departments from several provinces, and industry players in finance, securities, and media. It is part of the events responding to the Opening for Signature of the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime (Hanoi Convention) to take place in the capital city on October 25-26.