Workers struggle, social insurance "brokers" seek to take advantage
Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich (residing in Bac Giang) has been out of work for nearly 2 years. Having financial difficulties, she once intended to withdraw her social insurance at one time to cover her living expenses. When researching information in consulting groups on social networks, she was continuously approached by "insurance brokers" who offered to use the one-time social insurance withdrawal service through authorization.
They leave their phone number in the comments or private messages section, saying that they only need to send a photo of their insurance book for verification. If they are qualified, they will guide them to work as authorizers to receive the money on the same day" - Ms. Bich recounted. However, the fee that the "brokers" offer is not small - ranging from 30 to 40% of the total value withdrawn according to the official process. Worried about being scammed and losing personal information, Ms. Bich decided to refuse.
Not only in Ms. Bich's case, the situation of buying, selling and mortgaging social insurance books is flourishing in many localities, especially in areas with a large concentration of workers and laborers such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Bac Ninh, Binh Duong... This service often operates in the form of holding disguises. Workers can mortgage their books to get a sum of cash in advance, along with interest calculated daily. When they cannot return on time, they are "broken" their books through the authorization certificate, and forced to bid to "brokers" enjoy the difference.
Posing as someone who wanted to sell social insurance books, the reporter contacted a Facebook account named Thi An - who often posts about receiving social insurance books as collateral and collecting social insurance books in groups. This person said that he could receive any type of book, including due due due or errors. "I just need to take a photo of the book and send it via Zalo for me to check. If everything goes well, meet for 15-20 minutes and have cash. If the certificate is invalid, it will take time for both sides, Thi An said.
In Ho Chi Minh City, "brokers" also operate similarly, requiring customers to submit photos of their books and citizen identification cards in advance for verification before agreeing to meet to make a power of attorney and notarize. A Facebook account named Anh Vu said, "there must be clear information to dare to do it, because meeting not real customers is dangerous".
Risk of data and personal information leakage from illegal services
It is easy to see that social insurance withdrawal services through "brokers" are all operating illegally, with unknown identities. They often use virtual social media accounts, only meeting customers directly when they are sure to make a profit from the insurance book. Transactions were conducted quickly to avoid detection. This makes it easy for workers to take advantage, lose rights or fall into a spiral of debt, and even get involved in illegal activities.
According to Ho Chi Minh City Social Insurance, the act of buying, selling, and mortgaging social insurance books has many potential risks. Workers may have their information stolen, defrauded or have their insurance benefits permanently lost. Meanwhile, those who buy the book are not guaranteed any benefits, because social insurance is a personal social security policy, only enjoyed by the employer according to the law.
In addition, authorizing individuals with unknown backgrounds to carry out procedures such as withdrawing, merging, adjusting social insurance book information... can cause employees to lose unpaid wages. In reality, there have been many cases where communication was blocked after transferring money to "brokers", losing both the books and money.
The Social Insurance industry warns people to be absolutely vigilant with floating services on the network. Instead, you should go directly to the local social insurance agency for guidance and support in accordance with regulations.
