Interest rates rise rapidly, banks warn of new fraud schemes

Facebook and Zalo are seeing a growing number of accounts circulating misinformation about a Vietcombank savings program offering up to 9% interest. The issue has prompted Vietcombank to warn customers about a fraud scheme using counterfeit promotional materials.

Claim of up to 9% interest and what banks are actually offering

On April 3, a reporter from Nguoi Lao Dong said deposit rates remained high. A Vietcombank employee stated that customers who deposit from 500 million VND or more for a 12-month term could receive an interest rate of 9% per year. For deposits under 500 million VND, the rate remains high at 8.4% per year.

Since the start of the year, deposit rates have risen sharply. In March 2026, many banks adjusted rates 4–5 times, lifting the 6-month rate to around 9% per year.

Market movement across banks

Among 16 banks tracked by MBS, most have raised deposit rates, mainly for terms of 6 months or longer, with increases ranging from 0.1 to 1.4 percentage points. The trend has spread to both major banks and Vietcombank, BIDV, Agribank, and VietinBank.

According to MBS, by the end of March 2026, the highest rate for terms under 12 months was 8.7% per year. The average 12-month rate on the market has risen to about 8.07% per year.

Fraud scheme using counterfeit Vietcombank posters

In this context, Vietcombank says new fraud schemes related to savings rates have appeared. The bank reported that accounts on social platforms such as Facebook and Zalo are sharing promotional posters impersonating Vietcombank’s savings-rate program.

Vietcombank described the scam as highly sophisticated. Criminals create and distribute posters with logos and branding colors identical to Vietcombank. The posters include QR codes. When customers scan the QR codes, the phone either displays a strange phone number or redirects to a counterfeit website.

After contact, criminals impersonate bank staff to coax victims into providing personal information, online-banking login details, and/or card information to steal money from accounts.

Vietcombank’s warning to customers

To avoid losing money, Vietcombank urged customers not to provide security information such as card details, OTPs, or online-banking login information to anyone. The bank also warned customers not to scan QR codes on posters from unknown sources or counterfeits, and not to share counterfeit interest-rate images with friends or family.