Scammers impersonate officials to steal money in Lunar New Year identity fraud

HANOI, Vietnam — Scammers are increasingly targeting Vietnamese citizens, particularly the elderly, with sophisticated online fraud schemes as the 2026 Lunar New Year approaches.

Fraudsters are impersonating local ward officials or Social Security representatives to inform victims they are eligible for holiday support payments, often totaling 400,000 VND. The scammers typically contact targets via phone calls or the Zalo messaging app, instructing them to click malicious links to "register" for the funds.

Once victims provide personal information and one-time password (OTP) codes, the criminals quickly drain their bank accounts. In one recent case, a victim in Phu Tho province lost their entire savings just minutes after following the fraudulent instructions.

Authorities noted that the scammers often possess detailed personal data, including the victims' full names, addresses, and birth dates. Hai Phong City Police and other government agencies have issued urgent warnings, noting that criminals are now utilizing AI and deepfake technology to create convincing fake audio and video.

Officials are urging the public to remain vigilant and avoid clicking on unfamiliar links. Authorities emphasize that citizens should never provide sensitive personal information or bank credentials to anyone over the phone or internet.

Vietnam’s Digital Ambitions Stumble Amid Systemic Data Security Failures

While seasonal fraud during the Lunar New Year is not a new phenomenon, the increasing scale and sophistication of recent incidents highlight a deeper systemic crisis: the collapse of personal data security in Vietnam. The precision of these scams—where perpetrators possess granular details such as residential addresses and birth dates—indicates that information is being harvested from massive, centralized database leaks rather than through sporadic, individual-level theft.

This wave of fraud raises urgent questions regarding the accountability of both state authorities and the private sector. As the government accelerates its digital transformation and electronic identification initiatives, platforms like the VssID social insurance app have inadvertently become primary targets for exploitation. To date, official public awareness campaigns have functioned merely as reactive measures, failing to address the fundamental policy gaps: the sources of the data leaks and the lack of a robust enforcement mechanism to hold negligent entities responsible.

Furthermore, criminal networks are skillfully exploiting Vietnam’s digital divide. By targeting the elderly—a demographic that often combines lower technological proficiency with an inherent trust in "state officials"—fraudsters are creating a "perfect storm" of deception. When combined with AI-generated deepfakes, these psychological tactics allow criminals to bypass traditional defenses, turning the state’s push for a digitized society into a significant vulnerability for its most cautious citizens.

Vietnamese-American families with elderly relatives back home need to stay especially vigilant this season. As many of us—from those working in the nail salon industry to families gathering for phở in Little Saigon—prepare to send remittances so our parents and grandparents can celebrate Tết, scammers are increasingly targeting the bank accounts used to receive these funds. It is vital to call your loved ones in Vietnam and warn them about the latest phone and Zalo scams. Make sure they understand that they should never, under any circumstances, provide bank account information or OTP codes to anyone claiming to be a government official.