By Dr. Nguyen Thanh Binh, Lecturer at Phenikaa University
The Digital Boom and Its Dark Shadow
Vietnam’s dazzling leap into digital life has come with a sinister twin: the rise of online scams. The National Cybersecurity Association (NCA) estimates that Vietnamese users lost VND 18.9 trillion (over USD 740 million) to digital fraud in 2024 alone. Behind these numbers is a rapidly industrialising criminal ecosystem , which is slick, adaptive, and increasingly psychological.
The crisis began during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the nation’s sudden “great migration” online (e.g. rapid adoption of remote work, e-commerce, and online payments) created fertile ground for deception. Fraudsters preyed on fear and confusion, which includes fake vaccine registration links, malicious health and tracking apps, and “easy-job-high-income” offers aimed at the newly unemployed.
When the lockdowns ended, the habits stayed. By now, scams had evolved into AI-driven operations. Chatbots generated flawless Vietnamese, while deepfake technology recreated faces and voices. Scammers impersonated electricity officers, tax officials, bank employees, and especially police officers. These are roles that command instant authority. Citizens who once felt digitally safe now found themselves second-guessing every phone call and link.
However, the financial losses only tell half the story.
Compounding this challenge is the human aspect of scams. The so-called “easy-job high-income” offers have become an avenue for human trafficking, sending hundreds and thousands of Vietnamese to “scam farms” in neighboring countries where they are forced to defraud others under threat of violence. Vietnam’s police have rescued victims from such camps, yet many remain trapped. Yet social networks in Vietnam keep showing posts from desperate parents whose kids suddenly disappeared, uncontactable.
Even more chilling is the recent surge of online abductions or kidnappings. These happen when victims, which are often high-school or early university students, are psychologically manipulated into isolating themselves in hotel rooms or rentals, convinced they’re under investigation. Meanwhile, scammers extort their terrified parents thinking that their children have been kidnapped.
The numbers differ wildly depending on who counts. The Ministry of Public Security’s cybercrime unit (A05) estimated VND 8-10 trillion (USD 330-414 million) in 2023 losses, while Global Scam Alliance (GASA) put the figure at a staggering VND 391.8 trillion (USD 16.23 billion). The discrepancy itself tells the story – most victims don’t report the crime. A05 counts official cases, while GASA extrapolates survey data. The gap represents Vietnam’s culture of silence, which may lead into a systemic underreporting that conceals the true scale of the crisis.
The “Perfect Storm”
Vietnam’s online scam epidemic is not the result of one weakness but of many converging ones. This is where a “perfect storm” of factors converge. Technology, administrative, and social challenges all contribute to the pressing issue of scams in the country.
Each factor amplifies the others. Rapid connectivity meets weak regulation and fragile digital habits, which forms an irresistible combination that would attract the attention of organised cyber-criminals.
The Awareness Paradox
While technology and policy shortcomings enable scams, the true root cause lies in human psychology. For Vietnam, this is the dangerous paradox of public awareness.
Surveys suggest over half of Vietnamese citizens believe they can recognise a scam. Yet, most have encountered one, and billions are still lost. This becomes an issue of lack of awareness or ignorance, but rather of overconfidence.
People have been trained to spot clumsy phishing attempts, but modern scams are personal. When a message uses full name, ID number, and home address, which may have been all purchased from leaked databases, deception becomes more likely. In a similar vein, if the voice on the line sounds exactly like a child or family member’s, victims are manipulated.
This speaks to the ongoing trend of scammers hacking not only systems, but also people. Criminals target what could be called the “human operating system,” exploiting emotional vulnerabilities including:
- Fear – Impersonating police or prosecutors: “Your account is linked to a crime; transfer your money for investigation.”
- Greed – Promising impossible investment returns: “Earn 30% daily profit.”
- Urgency and Empathy – Using deepfake voices: “Mom, I’ve had an accident. Please send money.”
These are psychological exploits. Scammers weaponise instincts that make us human. fear for loved ones, trust in authority, and hope for opportunity. Unfortunately, these vulnerabilities cannot be “patched” the way we handle computer operating systems or software.
Why Awareness Campaigns Struggle
To its credit, the government has recognised this threat. Campaigns such as “Chậm mà Chắc”
(“Slow but Sure”) and “Không một mình”(“You’re Not Alone”) urge citizens to pause before acting and to seek help when victimised. But their impact has been limited by three structural barriers:
- Speed – Scams evolve faster than awareness campaigns. By the time one warns about fake tax apps, criminals have pivoted to impersonating the national ID platform.
- Reach – Messages circulate on TikTok and Facebook, missing those least online but most at risk: the elderly, rural residents, and low-literacy groups.
- Silence – A deep “culture of non-reporting.” The GASA survey found two-thirds of victims never report scams, out of shame, fear of ridicule, or belief that the money is gone forever.
These barriers have consequences beyond statistics. It distorts the scale of the crisis. For the silence component, it also discourages investigations and isolates victims who feel alone and humiliated. One of the critical steps is to be able to break the silence barrier and a change in mindset that reporting is not an admission of failure, but rather an act of civic duty.
The Path Forward: Building a Psychologically Vaccinated Society
If technology can’t patch human emotion, then the solution must be human-centric. One innovative solution is to do an “awareness vaccine”, which trains citizens to recognise manipulation in real time.
- Simulated Scam Campaigns
Vietnam could launch controlled national exercises, which may include simulated phishing emails or messages that, when clicked, lead to immediate lessons explaining how the trick worked. Such “psychological vaccination” would safely expose citizens to manipulation tactics, helping them build reflexes of skepticism. Instead of shaming victims, these exercises would normalise mistakes as learning experiences.
In the Tech for Good Institute’s report, it was highlighted that gamification can be used as scam drills to drive resilience. A few examples include the Be Scam Ready campaign by Google and the game-based approach by Bamboo Builders.
- Saturate Public Spaces
In addition, awareness must leap off the screen and into daily life. Posters in bus stations, hospitals, universities, and government offices can convey clear, rotating warnings about emerging scams. A single, memorable hotline for reporting is also useful to help change behaviours and encourage reporting. Reporting must be reframed as a protective act, not an admission of shame.
- Mobilise the Community
Cybersecurity practitioners, from private firms to local police, should become community educators. Talks at schools, universities, and neighborhood centers can bring scams to life through stories and real examples. These sessions don’t require elite experts; any trained security professional can act as a relatable guide.
This people-first strategy would complement law enforcement’s technical efforts, turning citizens into “human firewalls”.
From Panic to Preparedness
Vietnam’s battle against online scams is, at its heart, a psychological war. This is fought not on servers, but in minds. The criminals’ strongest weapon isn’t code, it’s human emotion. And the best defense isn’t stricter laws or better software, but collective emotional literacy.
An awareness vaccine doesn’t just inoculate individuals, but it strengthens the social immune system. When people verify before acting, report without shame, and share their experiences openly, the ecosystem of deceit begins to collapse.
The “perfect storm” that currently engulfs Vietnam can be calmed not by fear, but by education, empathy, and vigilance. In the end, every Vietnamese citizen has a role to play. Vietnamese cannot afford to become a passive victim in this scams epidemic, but an active defender of the nation’s digital future.
