AI-powered deepfakes fuel extortion wave in Vietnam

Leveraging AI deepfakes, cybercriminals in Vietnam are crafting fake videos to extort victims for hefty ransoms.

Cybercriminals in Vietnam are using AI to create realistic deepfake videos for extortion, marking a shift from traditional fraud tactics like phone scams, phishing emails, and romantic trickery.

Scammers harvest personal data taken from social media platforms and leaks, and the unfortunate victims then have their faces imposed on explicit videos.

Victims are coerced into playing hefty amounts to prevent such videos from being released publicly or to family, friends, and employers.

The criminals don’t always leave it there. Often, a chain of subsequent payments is asked for, resulting in the sufferer being caught in a blackmail loop.

Notable instances include a high-school girl in March 2024 who received a threat to publish an X-rated video featuring her face, reported The Phnom Penh Post.

The scammers demanded a $2000 ransom from the girl, who had to borrow money from friends and family. Luckily, the offenders were caught by police.

However, in a lot of cases, victims are quite reluctant to report such crimes out of fear of ruining their reputations.

They fear that by getting the police involved, the humiliation could escalate when their standing in society is ultimately compromised – as losing face in Vietnamese culture is considered to be a rock-bottom situation.

This reluctance to operate allows the cybercriminals to operate more freely, thus casting their net wider and becoming more sophisticated in their tactics.

The net is widening

In early 2024, fraudsters targeted celebrities and top-tier entrepreneurs to humiliate them, but now it appears that the public is at increased risk of being manipulated.

Police are urging the public to use more sophisticated passwords, limit personal information sharing online, and report any suspicious activity immediately.

Kaspersky Security director Ngô Tấn Vũ Khanh has highlighted deepfakes as a dire threat to society at large. He also called attention to when cyber thieves extract biometric data from the innocent and impersonate bank staff to access bank accounts and extort at will.

Authorities are ramping up efforts to educate the public on how to protect themselves better in what is effectively an international and borderless war against AI deepfake scams.