Parents wait for students outside the school gate of Nam Giang town's Primary School in Nam Truc district in northern Nam Dinh province.(Photo: VNA) The ministry has also urged schools to urgently review theirinformation security protocols for teachers and students to prevent furtherincidents.
The ministry has requested that schools encourage parents who havefallen victim to scams to report the incidents to the police for investigationpromptly. The hope is that this will lead to appropriate action against thoseresponsible for these crimes.
The latest move by the Vietnamese Ministry of Education andTraining underscores the seriousness of the situation. It highlights the needfor increased awareness and security measures in schools nationwide.
On March 28, some individuals distributed free soft drinks andconfectionery to students outside the gate of Nguyen Du Junior High School inDa Lat city. Despite the school's immediate intervention, two students stillsuffered from abdominal pain and had to be examined after consuming the food.
Earlier on March 24, a 12th-grade student from Phu Nhuan HighSchool in HCM City was approached by a stranger while standing in front of theschool gate. The stranger claimed to be a friend of the boy's father andoffered him a ride to the hospital where his father had been hospitalised aftera traffic accident.
On March 23, a parent of Kim Lien High School in Hanoi received acall from a stranger informing him that his child had incurred a debt of 5million VND buying cosmetic products and demanding payment.
On March 22, 31 students of Ly Tu Trong Primary School in Dak Lak provincewere poisoned after receiving free balloons distributed by four strangers atthe school gate.
On March 16, dozens of parents in Thai Nguyen province reportedreceiving a call from a stranger informing them that their child was in anemergency at the hospital and urgently needed money transferred for surgery andtreatment costs.
This type of scam first appeared in Ho Chi Minh City in lateFebruary and has since spread to Hanoi and Da Nang. According to reports, scammershave collected over 1 billion VND (42,570 USD) using this method, with over 800million VND (34,057 USD) in HCM City alone.
Following the initial property-appropriation scams in HCM City,the city’s Department of Education and Training promptly issued warnings toparents of students in schools.
Local education leaders acted swiftly after the occurrence offraudulent activities in their localities.
Pham Xuan Tien, Deputy Director of Hanoi’s Department of Educationand Training, emphasised the need to develop guidelines for handling issuesrelated to students that occur during the learning process at school.
He added that the school and teachers are responsible for takingcare of and supporting students until they are handed over to their parents. Toprevent fraudulent activities, schools should remind students to stay calm andnotify teachers or parents if they receive any messages or phone calls fromstrangers.
Tien also warned schools to avoid leaking personal informationabout students and urged them to review their information protection measuresto prevent new scams.
Trinh Duy Trong from the HCM City Department of Education andTraining stated that schools must publicise their hotline numbers on thedepartment's web portal. He emphasised that homeroom teachers should be theones to provide all information about students' learning and training atschool.
The Division of Education and Training in Da Lat city askedschools to conduct regular checks in front of the gate and advise studentsnever to accept food from strangers.
The Department of Education and Training in Dak Lak provincewarned parents and students about potential dangers outside of school gates.
Colonel Dao Trung Hieu, a criminology expert from the Ministry ofPublic Security, told Tuoi Tre (Youth)online newspaper that scammers obtain personal information about both parentsand students to carry out fraud.
He said it is likely that the personal information of parents andstudents has been leaked, either accidentally or intentionally. Communicationbetween schools and parents must be strengthened when such leaks arediscovered.
Teachers should educate students on necessary skills and raisetheir vigilance to such tricks. Parents should supervise their children’smovement from home to school and vice versa to avoid unfortunate incidents.
In response to recent scams, authorities must issue warnings andlegal advice to help people be more vigilant and take precautions, said anexpert.
Duong Trong Phuc, Vice Principal of Ly Tu Trong Youth Union Schoolin HCM City, also emphasised the need to increase penalties for informationinfringement to deter scammers.
Despite many scams, detection and handling have been limited,causing societal confusion and anxiety. Phuc said that mobile service providersshould be responsible and penalties for information infringement violationsshould be increased.
The expert said frauds would be more sophisticated in the future,and people should be equipped with knowledge about the digital age, the abilityto identify information and critical thinking to avoid being scammed.
Nguyen Huynh Bao Khanh, head of the criminology department of theHo Chi Minh City University of Law, said the scams focused on causing panicamong parents.
He also raised concern over school information security asscammers often possess very personal information about students.
Senior Colonel Nguyen Xuan Ha, deputy head of the People's PoliceCollege No 2’s Criminal Police Department, agreed that people fell into trapsbecause they were overwhelmed by worry and anxiety.
Fraudulent groups have been using many sophisticated techniques totake advantage of people's panic and anxiety. Most phone calls occur duringclass time, making it difficult for parents to contact teachers and verify theinformation given in the phone calls.
Ha said parents should double-check the information from parents’chat groups or contact the nearest police station to ask for help verifyinginformation.
Ngo Xuan Diep, head of the University of Social Sciences andHumanities under the HCM City’s National University, advised parents todouble-check the information from parent chat groups or contact the nearestpolice station for help in verifying information.
He also stressed the importance of teaching children skills toprotect themselves from fraudsters.
While the authorities are responsible for ensuring safety in frontof school gates, parents also have a crucial role.
They need to teach their children how to reject strangers and thingsfrom strangers, stay close to them, listen to them, and talk to them.
He said this will enable them to teach their children thenecessary skills to avoid fraudulent and suspicious circumstances./.
VNA
