alt Hacker NewsThis is likely part of the Vietnamese and Thai governments' rollout of biometric linking for bank accounts, similar to KYC regulations in the United States. The deadline for Vietnamese biometric linking was December 19th, 2025 [1].
The Vietnamese government has reported a rise in account takeovers and other banking thefts [2]. SIM-swapping has been a tactic used. Adding difficulty for fraudsters to trick unsophisticated banking customers is a valid security layer.
1. https://vietnamnet.vn/en/biometric-deadline-nears-millions-o...
2. https://evrimagaci.org/gpt/vietnam-faces-surge-in-sophistica... (expands upon https://vneconomy-vn/techconnect/mobile-banking-phat-trien-manh-tai-viet-nam.htm)
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Partially, but it's also connected with the VNeID project [0]. The goal is by 2030 [1], all Vietnamese nationals and foreign visitors will have a digital biometric ID attached to themselves, and all services linked to said ID.
[0] - https://vneid.gov.vn/
[1] - https://tuoitre.vn/thieu-tuong-nguyen-ngoc-cuong-nang-cap-vn...
> SIM-swapping has been a tactic used. Adding difficulty for fraudsters to trick unsophisticated banking customers is a valid security layer.
You fight SIM-swapping by outlawing the moronic practice of using SMS for anything security sensitive. Not by blocking user modified OSes.