Objective: To describe the current practices in preventing some forms of online scams among third-year students at Thai Binh University of Medicine and Pharmacy.
Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 1,021 third-year students across different training programs at Thai Binh University of Medicine and Pharmacy.
Results: Over 90% of students did not engage in “providing personal information,” “making advance payments,” or “logging in” upon requests from unfamiliar messages, calls, or emails. From 80.6% to 92.8% of students reported “carefully verifying information” from emails, websites, or links before seeking employment, updating banking information, or registering for international programs. When being asked to transfer money for identity verification or to return funds sent to the wrong account, 88.1%–92.3% of students proactively contacted the police or banks. More than 80.0% of students did not download suspicious files and shared anti-scam knowledge with peers. However, only 47.7% used strong passwords and enabled two-factor authentication, and 44.8% updated their knowledge of cybersecurity. Conclusion: The proportion of students demonstrating appropriate preventive practices in specific scam scenarios exceeded 80%. However, only 44.8% updated their knowledge of cybersecurity. Strengthening communication and educational interventions within universities and communities is necessary to improve students’ practices in preventing online scams.