Students 'lose' hundreds of millions because of scam calls

Lost hundreds of millions because of profitable investment

A series of universities in Ho Chi Minh City have continuously issued warnings to students, parents and partners about scams involving scholarships, tuition fees and financial aid.

The University of Finance and Marketing has just issued a notice warning students, parents and partners to be vigilant against the appearance of many subjects impersonating the school to commit fraud.

According to the report, the subjects impersonated the school to recruit personnel for the system of units based in Ho Chi Minh City. The bad guys contacted candidates by phone and announced interview invitations. Next, they invited candidates to join groups and participate in profitable money-making projects to appropriate assets. Using the above tricks, many students were scammed out of hundreds of millions of dong.

Fraudulent information warned by University of Finance - Marketing.

Along with that, the scammers also sent fake school notices about "Winning the Vietnam Young Generation Student Exchange Scholarship and Bristol University" to many candidates who have just graduated from high school and are waiting for the university admission results in 2025.

Speaking to reporters, a representative of the University of Finance and Marketing confirmed that they do not collect any fees during the recruitment process and do not require payment to receive scholarships. All information about scholarships and recruitment is only posted on the website and official information channels of the school.

Similarly, Ho Chi Minh City University of Education has just issued a notice about the trick of impersonating staff of the Political Affairs Department and students. The scammers contact students via phone, social networks... asking for personal information, money transfers or participation in activities of unknown origin.

In this situation, the school recommends that students be vigilant and absolutely do not provide personal information, bank accounts, or OTP codes to anyone over the phone or on social networks. Do not transfer money without verifying the information through the school's official channels. When receiving suspicious calls or messages, students should immediately contact the Office of Political Affairs and Student Affairs via the official phone number or email for verification.

Stuck in front of fake scholarships

Two months ago, the University of Technology (Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City) discovered that a scammer had sent fake notices about “winning scholarships” under the International Bachelor of Engineering Joint Program. Students were required to pay an application fee to receive the scholarship.

Fraudulent information warned by the University of Technology (Ho Chi Minh City National University).

On August 4, the above trick continued to be upgraded. The impersonator pretended to be the school and informed the candidates who had not been admitted to university that they had “won the Vietnam Young Generation Scholarship and the University of Technology UTS”. This time the announcement was designed more professionally, adding more details about the benefits and conditions. The subject even used the candidates’ personal information (name, age, ID card number) and sent the letter via email with the domain name @hcmut.edu.vn to increase the level of trust.

A representative of the University of Technology (Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City) confirmed that the entire process of reviewing and granting official scholarships is carried out through the management system and publicly announced on the school's official channels. The school does not send separate notices to individuals, nor does it collect any fees related to scholarship review.

The fanpage named “University of Medicine and Pharmacy – Job Channel” frequently reposts articles from the official page, causing confusion for the community.

Previously, Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy issued a warning against scams. Specifically, the school spoke out against a Fanpage named “University of Medicine and Pharmacy – Job Channel” that frequently reposted articles from the official page, causing confusion for the community. Notably, the fake page also requested user information for the purpose of introducing jobs and applying for positions to commit fraud.