Middle-aged mother in Hanoi loses 1.3 billion VND to deepfake scam on Viber impersonating daughter

Summary

A mother in Hanoi lost over 1.3 billion VND (approximately USD 52,000) after falling victim to a deepfake scam on Viber, where a scammer impersonated her daughter. The incident occurred on March 28 when the victim received a missed call and a video call displaying an image of her daughter before being abruptly disconnected. The scammer then sent a message claiming poor signal quality and requested money to exchange foreign currency at a favorable rate. Believing the request was genuine, the mother transferred the funds without verification. She later realized the scam when all messages from the Viber account were deleted. Hanoi police have since issued a warning about deepfake scams and urged the public to verify all money transfer requests through direct contact or in-person meetings.