Vietnam’s cybersecurity association issues anti-scamming application

The nTrust application, developed by the NCA itself, is available for free on Google Play and App Store.

Besides checking phone numbers, bank accounts and links for signs of scamming, the application can also scan the phone itself to detect malicious codes and scamming software.

Users can also report suspicious phone numbers, links and applications to nTrust. The data would then be compiled, verified and updated for the nTrust community.

nTrust can also block scam phone numbers based on existing databases.

Vu Ngoc Son, head of the research, counsel, technology development and international cooperation of NCA, said nTrust’s database already had over 1 million records on phone numbers, accounts and websites used for scamming, compiled from verified data by several ministries, the State Bank of Vietnam, and other cybersecurity organizations.

“We hope that with the community’s participation, the database will quickly improve in the coming times, making the fight against scamming more effective,” Son said.

Developers of the application said it ensures privacy, allowing users to be active in the management of which information needs to be checked and reported. Processes regarding evaluating phone calls are only done locally on the phone, and no data would be sent back to any server.