Emergency withdrawal due to phone threats
On the morning of April 25, 2025, a female customer named N.T.L. (residing in Hat Lot town, Mai Son district, Son La province) went to Agribank Mai Son district branch to request a full withdrawal of the entire amount in the savings book worth 220 million VND. Her hastily and confused attitude made trader Dao Thi Ngoc Trinh and cashier Ha Thi Van suspect signs of abnormality.
During the conversation, the bank officer discovered that Ms. Lan was being constantly called, threatened mentally and asked to transfer money to a strange account. The subjects also forbid her from revealing to anyone, giving the reason "the investigation of the serious incident".
In the face of the emergency situation, the bank officer immediately reported to the Branch's Board of Directors and coordinated with the Hat Lot Town Police. Thanks to timely intervention, customers are reassured and stop transactions, avoiding losing money to scammers.
Forged documents to open an account, serving illegal acts
Previously, on April 21, 2025, at the Agribank Ho Chi Minh City Branch (District 1), a foreigner came to open a bank account. While checking the documents, trader Pham Thi Thien Loc discovered many unusual signs on the passport. The subject quickly withdrew after realizing the suspicion.
Information is alerted via internal system. After that, this person continued to appear at Pho Duc Chinh transaction office. Here, trader Huynh Thi Thu Hang proactively checked carefully, identified the risk of counterfeiting and extended the processing time to seek guidance from the board of directors, and reported to Nguyen Thai Binh ward police.
When the authorities appeared, the subject intended to leave but was held back by two bank security guards, Nguyen Van Phuc and Trinh Huu Khiem. The subject was handed over to the police for handling according to regulations.
On the morning of April 25, Nguyen Thai Binh Ward Police organized a reward ceremony for officers and security guards participating in handling the case.
Tricks are getting more and more sophisticated, limiting money loss in just a few minutes
The above cases show that scammers are increasingly using sophisticated tricks: impersonating authorities, using fake documents to open accounts, psychological threats via phone... If they are not alert, customers can have their entire money stolen in a flash.
At many banks, including Agribank, human factors still play an important role in identifying and handling risks early. Traders not only perform their profession, but are also the "first line" to prevent increasingly diverse fraudulent acts.
Notes for bank service users
Do not transfer money or provide account information or OTP code to anyone over the phone.
Absolutely do not comply with the request to withdraw money to "serve the investigation".
When in doubt, ask to stop the transaction, contact the bank or local police directly.
For the elderly, it is necessary to proactively support them to identify new fraud methods.
