This follows a recent report about a victim at a State-run bank who lost US$22,400, which was debited from her account without her knowledge.

Potential risks

Recently, the phenomenon of money in bank accounts suddenly developing "no wings that fly" are sounding the alarm about security in the local banking system. While investigations are ongoing, officials warned the public and banks that they should be more careful with online transactions.

Over the months, several commercial banks and credit institutions have received complaints by clients relating to unusual online transactions. Bank card owners said that they had not conducted any transactions but money still disappeared from their bank accounts.

Tran Quang Hung of the Information Security Department of the Ministry of Information and Communication said that technology is constantly evolving, and the internet has especially made commercial activities more convenient. Cyber attacks by hackers have often taken place, using tricks to log in to clients' accounts to transfer money to other accounts.

Hung said over the pastcyber attacks on online transaction had become a significant threat to the healthy development and stabilisation of online transactions in Viet Nam.

Meanwhile, Colonel Tran Van Doanh of the High-tech Crime Investigation Division said the Ministry of Public Security has seen that risks to online payments and bank cards occur everywhere in the world, including in developed countries. He added that security for Vietnamese bank cards and online transactions were relatively secure, compared to other countries, and fraud usually occurred when clients fail to protect their personal details.

He warned that customers should remain cautious when conducting card and online transactions. He also attributed the online fraud to loose management at banks.

Lawyer Truong Thanh Duc said several recent incidents have proven that there are faults in the inspections of banking systems. To protect themselves, customers should not ask banks to offer easy and convenient procedures when making transactions. Rather, they should be strictly controlled.

Tran Quang Hung attributed phishing scams to poor awareness by bank account owners. Therefore, commercial banks or credit institutions were responsible for protecting their clients against threats of losing money in their bank accounts.

Hung said banks and credit institutions needed to actively warn customers about the threat of losing personal data, in case attacks might have been facilitated using malware installed in a software application.

Tran Cong Quynh Lan, general deputy director of Vietinbank, said the volume of online transaction via Internet banking and mobile banking has been increased rapidly. Commercial banks can compensate clients in case of incidents, but they cannot maintain the confidence of customers in them.

A series of incidents involving online transaction have made clients skeptical. Once, an incident involving Internet banking or mobile banking would shock society. Therefore, the whole banking system needed to take essential actions to regain confidence from customers, Lan said.

Minimise risks

Le Manh Hung of the Information Technology Department of the central bank said the State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) has issued the Circular 29/2011/TT-NHNN to stipulate safety regulations for credit institutions via internet banking.

Some regulations conducted by the SBV have gained positive results by creating a sufficient legal corridor to instruct credit institutions to implement safety requirements for online payments.

To minimise risks and ensure security in bank card and online payments, the central bank has also worked with relevant agencies to enhance inspection and supervision.

The central bank has asked the Information Technology Department to study and apply international standards for banking security.

The SBV has also required credit institutions to launch inspections and review professional processes, IT infrastructures, and human resources.

Inspections should be conducted regularly to detect and prevent any technology devices illegally installed on ATM machines, in a bid to protect clients' personal data from being stolen.

The Prime Minister has required the Ministry of Public Security and the SBV to fight against and strictly handle any violations of payments that harm the security and safety of the country's payment system. 

VNS