Three victims in Hanoi have just reported to the Department of Cyber Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention - Hanoi City Police about being scammed when investing in stocks on the SKSVIP application.
The Cyber Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention Department -
Hanoi City Police said it received a report from three victims in Hanoi
about being scammed when investing in stocks on the SKSVIP application.
After the AJB DIRECT case, most recently, an application called SKSVIP was discovered with similar tricks.
Scam to buy cheap stocks at 1/5 of the actual price
Scam to buy cheap stocks at 1/5 of the actual price
Specifically, three victims in Hanoi have just reported to the
Department of Cyber Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention - Hanoi City
Police about being scammed when investing in stocks on the SKSVIP
application.
According to the report, the victims were invited to participate in
an online stock investment course on the SKSVIP app. This app has an
interface identical to official stock websites and applications, fully
displaying stock codes, indices, and face values as in the real market.
Players are then guided to buy and sell stocks that are being
traded on the floor. In particular, the subjects often "draw" attractive
incentives associated with corporate events such as company
anniversaries or internal news, to invite investors to buy cheap bonus
stocks at only 7,000 - 10,000 VND/share (equal to 1/4 - 1/5 of the
actual value).
Initially, participants made profits and were able to withdraw a
small amount. Believing, the three victims continued to deposit more
money in the hope of receiving higher profits, the total amount reaching
more than 3.5 billion VND.
However, when they want to withdraw money, they are asked to pay
more money for many reasons such as violating transaction rules, having
to pay taxes or fees to be able to withdraw money. Then the account is
locked, unable to make transactions.
Previously, Ms. H. (residing in Hanoi) also reported being lured
into investing up to 4 billion VND in stocks with a commitment of "huge"
profits of up to 777% through the AJB DIRECT application.
Initially, the account showed steady profits, but when withdrawing
money, it could not be operated , was removed from the group and blocked
from contact. This platform also fully displays indexes such as
VN-Index, HNX-Index, VN30-Index... identical to the real platform.
The deputy general director of a securities company in Hanoi said
that all transactions on fake platforms are pre-programmed, have no
connection to the real stock market but display price fluctuations that
look real, making it easy for many investors to fall into the trap.
"The familiar trick is to offer unusually high profits, up to
hundreds of percent, to lure investors. Fraudulent apps often allow
small initial withdrawals to create trust, then take all the large sums
of money later," the securities company leader warned.
No reputable platform sells stocks below the floor price
Speaking to Tuoi Tre Online, Mr. Truong Hien Phuong - senior
director of KIS Vietnam Securities - said that scammers often design
fake apps that look exactly like those of reputable securities
companies, making it easy for investors to fall into traps.
In particular, they often promise to sell stocks at a price lower
than the market price - which is completely untrue. This person affirmed
that no reputable platform sells stocks lower than the matched price on
the floor.
Another distinguishing feature is the promise of high profits but
very difficult withdrawals. Initially, investors can withdraw small
profits to build trust, but when depositing large amounts of money, the
app will lock the account or require payment of a "withdrawal fee" and
then disappear.
He also noted that investors should never transfer money to their
personal accounts. Legitimate securities companies always require
investors to transfer money to their own identified accounts at
custodian banks, without going through an intermediary.
In addition, the expert warned investors to be wary of deepfake
technology, which is being exploited to create calls and livestreams
with images of famous faces.
"In many cases, the images of business leaders appearing before the
public are entirely products of artificial intelligence," said Mr.
Phuong.