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Enhancing customers’ digital skills in online banking has become a priority as online banking fraud and scams continue to rise. To safeguard customer information and accounts, Vietnam’s banking sector is deploying management, monitoring, and risk-prevention measures, alongside efforts to strengthen customer communication and security awareness.
According to information from the Cyber Security and Crime Prevention Department (PA05 – Can Tho City Police), high-tech crimes have recently increased and evolved, particularly around major holidays such as Liberation Day (April 30) and International Workers’ Day (May 1).
Criminals often exploit people’s interest in gifts and promotions. A common tactic is to call victims claiming they are offering gifts, then ask them to click suspicious links to receive the reward and seize assets.
Attackers may use unfamiliar phone numbers (for example, 02928 992 763; 0248 992 1013) to appear credible, claiming the recipient will receive a small amount of money—often around 179,000 VND—to reduce suspicion. After the baiting step, victims are directed to links designed to mimic official websites. Victims may then be prompted to enter sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, bank account numbers, or OTPs, or to install untrusted applications. The attackers then quickly take control and carry out transfers from the victim’s bank account.
Recently, the Hanoi Economic Police Department uncovered a group that illegally collected personal information to open bank accounts for illicit gains.
Through situational awareness, Hanoi Police detected groups operating as consultants who drafted loan applications via mobile-finance apps from finance companies operating in Vietnam. In addition to arranging loans, the offenders misused customer information (including ID cards and photos) to open additional bank accounts through mobile banking apps or e-wallet accounts, charging prices of 100,000–150,000 VND per account.
Hanoi police also previously warned about apps, websites, and social media accounts impersonating banks or finance companies. Criminals use names, logos, and interfaces closely resembling reputable credit institutions to build trust, prompting users to install fake apps or access fake links. Victims may have their account information and security codes stolen, or be asked to pay fees for opening records, verification, insurance, or disbursement activation. In some cases, victims were coerced into installing remote-control software, allowing criminals to read messages and capture OTPs to withdraw money.
Facing rising online fraud and scams, the State Bank of Vietnam (NHNN) has implemented targeted measures to improve management, supervision, and prevention of payment fraud, with a focus on security and safety in payment activities.
NHNN has studied and proposed that the Government issue decrees and circulars to promote cashless payments (TTKDTM) and strengthen information security in payment activities. The content referenced includes:
NHNN also added provisions to establish identity for online transactions, including:
NHNN, in cooperation with the Ministry of Public Security and other agencies, launched Plan 01/KHPH-BCA-NHNNVN on 24 April 2023. The plan includes data integration from the national population database, chip-based citizen identification (CCCD) with electronic verification, and use of the identity verification app VNeID to clean data and verify customers, helping prevent criminals from impersonating others or using false documents to register banking services for illegal purposes.
Directive No. 29/CĐ-TTg dated 3 April 2025 on strengthening prevention and handling of high-tech crime is also being implemented. NHNN works with the Police, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of Science and Technology to reconcile Mobile Banking subscriber data with population data, and to review accounts and SIM verification to strengthen governance and prevent online fraud.
By November 2025, the Ministry of Science and Technology had collaborated with Public Security to reconcile more than 125 million mobile subscribers, standardizing 11 million and blocking 6 million non-authentic subscribers.
In addition, the banking sector is working on data cleansing and customer verification. By 3 April 2026, it processed:
Under offline methods, 29 credit institutions have signed with C06 (the Civil Police Administrative Management Department) to cleanse customer data for payment accounts; 27 institutions have submitted data for cleansing (over 24 million customer records sent, with feedback received). In addition, 11 payment intermediaries have signed with C06 for cleansing, with 4 intermediaries submitting data (over 149 thousand records).
For integration of the national population database for socio-economic development, to date:
NHNN has deployed the SIMO system to support management, supervision, and prevention of fraud in payment activities. SIMO allows member institutions to report suspicious accounts and share information with other members. Using SIMO’s centralized data, banks can decide to block transactions immediately or require identity verification before online transactions.
As of 12 April 2026, SIMO service users reported:
NHNN also instructs credit institutions to implement measures to prevent unauthorized modifications to Mobile Banking apps installed on customers’ devices. Indicators include debugging environments or emulation on the device, or apps that are tampered with or run in ways that enable direct device-to-app interactions. Detected tampered apps should cause the system to exit or stop the application.
Decree No. 340/2025/ND-CP (effective 9 February 2026) sets administrative penalties in monetary and banking fields. It provides penalties for violations such as unauthorized opening, renting, or selling of payment accounts; infringement involving ten or more accounts; and penalties up to 250,000,000 VND for specific offenses including unauthorized access, data theft, or other violations in payment operations.
To respond to the evolving online fraud landscape and protect customers’ rights in digital banking services, NHNN plans to focus on:
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