Not only do they impersonate a bank employee to "assist in installing" the speaker to announce the transfer and then take control of the phone, the crooks also use an application that simulates the sound of receiving money to trick the seller into delivering the goods.

Soundbox, a small speaker that reads loudly every time money is transferred, has become a familiar item at the cashier counters of businesses, small businesses and retail stores. It is this popularity that is being exploited by scammers.

Ban Viet Commercial Joint Stock Bank (BVBank) has just issued a warning about fraud tricks related to this device, with increasingly sophisticated methods.

Impersonate a "technician" to take control of the phone

According to BVBank, based on records from the authorities, the subjects often pretended to be bank employees or employees of the Soundbox supplier, proactively calling, texting or contacting the store owner via social networks. The reasons given sound very reasonable, from installation support, upgrades, maintenance to troubleshooting equipment errors.

Once trust is established, the crooks begin to lead the victim to access strange links or fake websites, install applications of unknown origin on the phone, grant remote access or share the screen. There are cases where the subject directly requests security information such as login name, password, OTP code, PIN code or bank account information. Once they have control of the device or have this information in hand, they can perform illegal transactions to appropriate money from the customer's account.

Fake "ting ting" sound to get goods

Besides account hijacking, BVBank also noted a trick that directly targets the habits of sellers. Some subjects use an application that simulates the sound of successfully receiving money, emitting a sound similar to Soundbox. Believing this conspiracy, the seller delivers a product or provides a service, when in fact the transaction has never been recorded in the account.

Don't just listen to the speaker, check your account

To prevent this, BVBank recommends that customers absolutely not provide OTP codes, passwords, PIN codes, e-banking login names or any other confidential information to others in any form. Users should also not access unfamiliar links, install applications from unauthenticated sources, or give control of the phone to strangers.

When needing technical support, upgrading or repairing the Soundbox, store owners should only contact the bank or equipment supplier through official channels. The bank also advises users to change the device's default password if any, use strong passwords and regularly update the software according to the supplier's instructions.

With the sound emulation trick, BVBank's advice is not to confirm transactions based solely on the sound emitted by the speaker. Before delivering goods or completing transactions, sellers should check the balance or transaction history on the banking application to make sure the money has actually been credited to the account, and actively monitor balance fluctuations and regularly review transactions arising on the payment account.