The “Identifying Scams” campaign, jointly launched by the Authority of Information Security (AIS) under the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) and Meta, aims to share effective online scam prevention methods with the social media community throughout 2024.

According to the AIS, ensuring the safety of social media users, which includes enhancing their ability to identify and prevent online scams, is a significant challenge. This task requires collaboration among various parties, including government agencies, law enforcement, and all social media platforms.

Focus areas of the campaign

As a communication campaign, “Identifying Scams” will focus on educating social media users on effectively avoiding six of the 24 online scam types identified as "hot spots" in Vietnam. These include investment scams, job scams, financial scams, loan scams, lottery scams, and impersonation scams.

During the campaign, a series of images and short videos on how to recognize and deal with online scams will be posted on Meta's social media platforms and the National Cybersecurity Center's (NCSC) information portal managed by the AIS, as well as on Meta's "We Think Digital" website at wethinkdigital.fb.com.

Notably, the campaign will feature contributions from prominent content creators in Vietnam to widely disseminate practical and easy-to-remember tips that help social media users protect themselves from online scams.

Nguyen Phu Luong, Deputy Director of the NCSC, emphasized that social media is a fertile ground for cybercriminals to carry out scams. “Just a moment of carelessness, a lack of awareness, and people can fall into traps at any time,” he warned.

The NCSC representative also highlighted that raising public awareness about online scams is one of the AIS's top priorities. When individuals, especially vulnerable groups, learn how to recognize and be wary of fraudulent tactics, it can help reduce the prevalence of online scams.

“With the ‘Identifying Scams’ campaign in collaboration with Meta, we aim to equip every digital citizen with the ability to identify scam traps and enhance their skills to protect themselves in the online space,” the NCSC representative added.

Meta's commitment

Ruici Tio, Manager of the Asia-Pacific Safety Policy Program at Meta, reaffirmed Meta's commitment to preventing scams that affect user experience. He stated that Meta will continue to enhance communication and education efforts to help more users recognize fraudulent activities.

Last year, Meta launched the first phase of the “Identifying Scams” campaign specifically for Vietnam, reaching millions of users and attracting hundreds of thousands of visits to its "We Think Digital" online safety portal.

“The collaboration with the AIS in 2024 aims to further enhance the skills of Vietnamese users in identifying and combating online scams. We want all users to proactively equip themselves with knowledge about the importance of staying vigilant against online scam tactics,” said Ruici Tio.

Van Anh