NCB Warns Against Impersonation of Bank Employees Offering Loans and Illegal Credit Brokerage

Recently, illegal credit brokerage activities have shown increasingly complex developments. Individuals and organizations are exploiting customers’ borrowing needs to conduct illegal credit brokerage, approaching customers via social media, online platforms, messages or online groups to offer loan support services with attractive commitments, posing potential risks of fraud, asset misappropriation, or the unlawful collection and use of personal information.

National Citizen Commercial Joint Stock Bank (NCB) advises customers to exercise caution, proactively verify information, and refrain from conducting transactions with individuals or organizations providing credit brokerage services of unclear origin.

COMMON SCAMS AND TACTICS

1. Impersonating bank employees

Illegal credit brokers may exploit customers’ borrowing needs by making attractive offers such as “loan support even if eligibility requirements are not met,” “guaranteed application approval,” or “100% guaranteed credit approval” through social media, online platforms, messages or Internet groups.

To gain customers’ trust, these individuals may falsely claim to be bank employees, appraisal officers, customer service staff or collaborators, and may use counterfeit employee cards, documents, images, logos or business cards to solicit customers and assist with loan applications.

Notably, these individuals may claim that they can expedite procedures, bypass appraisal steps, or guarantee credit approval even when customers do not fully meet the applicable borrowing requirements.

2. Requesting service fees or commissions before loan disbursement

These individuals may ask customers to transfer money in advance under pretexts such as “application processing fees,” “expedited asset appraisal fees,” “exception approval fees” or “brokerage commissions,” while promising that the loan will be approved or disbursed after such fees have been paid.

3. Requesting control of electronic devices or account information

These individuals may ask customers to install applications, access unfamiliar links, share their screens, hand over control of their phones/computers, or provide login credentials and OTP codes under the pretext of assisting with application completion, verification or loan disbursement.

NCB ADVISES CUSTOMERS

1. Proactively verify information before conducting transactions

When seeking a loan, customers should proactively obtain information and directly contact the Bank through its official channels for advice on products, eligibility requirements, documentation, procedures and costs related to the loan.

If customers suspect that they are dealing with individuals impersonating bank employees or engaging in illegal credit brokerage, they should immediately stop the transaction, refrain from transferring money or providing any additional information, and contact the Bank through its official channels for verification.

2. Do not provide confidential information to anyone, including persons claiming to be bank officers or police officers

To protect their assets and personal information, customers must never disclose passwords, PINs, OTP codes, electronic banking login credentials, CVV/CVC numbers or any other confidential information to anyone, including persons claiming to be bank officers or police officers, in any form, particularly via telephone, messages or social media.

NCB never requests Customers to provide confidential information in any form. OTP/Smart OTP is the most important key to protecting your account and must be known only to you.

3. Customers must never access/click links, applications or websites sent from unidentified sources, particularly when asked to log in to a bank account or enter an authentication code.

4. Conduct transactions directly through the Bank’s official channels

NCB recommends that customers carefully verify the source of information and conduct transactions only through the Bank’s official channels. Proactively identifying unusual signs and verifying information before conducting transactions will help minimize the risk of fraud, loss of assets or misuse of personal information.

NCB only has the following official channels:

* NCB Branches/Transaction Offices: Conduct transactions directly at the nearest NCB transaction point nationwide.

* NCB official website: https://www.ncb-bank.vn/

* NCB official Fanpage: https://www.facebook.com/NCBVietNam

* NCB official recruitment Fanpage: https://www.facebook.com/tuyendung.NCB

* NCB Customer Service Hotline (24/7): 1800 6166 - 028 38216 216.

Thank you for your valued attention and cooperation.