Scammers sell fake prize scratch-off tickets, then notify players that they have won large prizes to entice them into paying extra money to "complete prize claiming procedures" along with a series of "prize collection" fees to appropriate more money from the victims. After being transferred, the victims' money is moved across multiple different accounts in an attempt to erase the money trail, making tracing and recovering assets extremely difficult.

Recently, a victim who purchased 34 scratch-off tickets worth 199,000 VND each from an account named "Than tai may man" (Lucky God of Wealth) was notified of winning more than 1.1 billion VND. To receive the money, this person was required to pay an additional 6 million VND to complete the documentation, followed by paying over 22 million VND in currency conversion fees. By the time the victim realized it was a scam, it was already too late.

Bkav Cybersecurity experts recommend:

• Citizens must remain vigilant against scratch-off ticket, lucky draw, or prize-winning programs on social networks, especially when asked to pay additional money to claim prizes.

• Do not transfer money, provide banking information, or disclose OTP codes following instructions from unverified accounts.

• Upon detecting signs of fraud, quickly contact the bank for assistance and report the incident to the police.

Bkav