HCMC Party chief says criminals impersonated him to borrow money, urges caution

Discussing the state of online fraud using high technology, which is becoming complex and significantly impacting the lives of citizens, Nen noted that not only ordinary people but also officials and leaders within the political system were affected.

This situation is increasingly common, with daily reports of people being scammed, he told a city’s meeting on Thursday.

Nen recounted an incident when, during a meeting he attended in Hanoi, a senior official told him that he “received a call from someone claiming to be Party Secretary Nguyen Van Nen, asking to borrow money.”

“He said the voice on the phone sounded very much like mine, but upon checking, it turned out to be someone else’s phone number,” Nen said.

And that one incident was not the first or the only time someone impersonated him.

“Many others have called me asking if I was involved in any business that needed fundraising or borrowing money,” he added.

Additionally, a number of officials from the HCMC Party Committee and leaders of various agencies in the city have also had stories fabricated about them to extort money, he said.

Leaders at all levels, including the courts, police, and prosecutors, could have their images misused for scams, he warned.

The Party Secretary acknowledged that so far, police and authorities had focused efforts on preventing and countering high-tech crimes, but continued public support was needed, especially in raising awareness and vigilance to avoid falling into traps.

At a meeting of the HCMC Party Committee on June 14, Lieutenant General Le Hong Nam, head of the city’s Department of Police, reported that online fraud is increasingly rampant.

However, the detection rate of these cases remains low at only 20%, and the amount of money recovered is minimal since the money has been transferred through multiple accounts and moved out of Vietnam, he said.

In an effort to cope with the criminals, the National Cybersecurity Association (NCA) has earlier this week launched a free anti-scamming app called nTrust, available on Google Play and the App Store.

The app helps users detect scam indicators through phone numbers, bank accounts, and online links, and it can also scan phones for malicious codes and scamming software. Users can report suspicious phone numbers, links, and apps to nTrust, and the data will be compiled, verified, and updated for the community.