Police in Vietnam’s north-central Thanh Hoa Province launched criminal proceedings on Wednesday against 84 suspects involved in a transnational scam. The case alleges the use of computer networks, telecommunications, and electronic devices to fraudulently obtain property, as well as organizing illegal entry and stays in Vietnam.
84 charged in transnational scam ring in Thanh Hoa
Most recently, police in Thanh Hoa Province, north-central Vietnam on Wednesday initiated criminal proceedings against 84 suspects in a transnational scam case involving the alleged use of computer networks, telecommunications networks, and electronic devices to appropriate property, as well as organizing illegal entry into or stays in Vietnam.
Previously, local authorities detected a group of foreign nationals of various nationalities staying at a hotel in the province’s Nghi Son Ward.
Several members had allegedly entered Vietnam illegally, while one was wanted by foreign authorities.
The group was accused of assigning members to carry out scams involving financial investments, cryptocurrencies, sports betting, fake recruitment offers, and fraudulent online job assignments.
The group’s targets were people in Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, India, the U.S., and mainland China.
According to Thanh Hoa police, authorities have arrested 118 suspects as of Wednesday, including 113 foreign nationals and five Vietnamese citizens.
The foreign suspects comprise 74 Chinese nationals, 28 Indian nationals, nine Cambodian nationals, one Malaysian national, and one Myanmar national.
International scam ring involving Chinese, Japanese in Hanoi
Hanoi police in March dismantled a transnational cyber fraud ring that impersonated Japanese police and judicial officials, arresting seven foreign suspects accused of swindling about VND11 billion (US$420,000) from victims in Japan.
Officers identified seven foreign suspects, including three Chinese nationals and four Japanese nationals, suspected of committing online fraud.
They contacted Japanese citizens, claiming their personal data were linked to crimes.
The victims were coerced into transferring cryptocurrency (Ethereum) for ‘investigation purposes.’
During the raids, officers seized 65 mobile phones, 19 tablets, three laptops, 12 walkie-talkies, four Japanese police uniforms, and a quantity of Vietnamese dong in cash.
23 foreigners operate online fraud ring in Bac Ninh
Police in Bac Ninh City, northern Vietnam in June uncovered a group of 23 foreign nationals who were staying illegally in the city and are suspected of operating online fraud schemes targeting victims through social media and cryptocurrency-related investment scams.
The suspects reportedly used computers and mobile phones equipped with the HelloGPT application to simultaneously log into multiple Telegram, Zalo, and WhatsApp accounts.
They were accused of using these accounts to create online groups encouraging people to invest in stocks, trade USDT, and purchase cryptocurrencies through unofficial electronic trading platforms.
After victims invested on the platforms, another group would allegedly manipulate the technical systems to alter investment outcomes and appropriate the victims’ money.
Another group of suspects allegedly lured victims into participating in online shopping tasks in exchange for commissions.
The victims were assigned a series of purchasing tasks involving products of increasing value.
Once they reached a task requiring a large sum of money, the suspects would take the victims’ funds.
11 Chinese arrested for allegedly running online scam targeting French citizens
Police in Bac Ninh Province, northern Vietnam, in July arrested 11 Chinese nationals allegedly involved in an online fraud ring that operated a fake e-commerce platform to defraud French citizens.
The suspects allegedly used Facebook accounts posing as French citizens to befriend victims and establish relationships following pre-written scripts.
After gaining the victims’ trust, they collected their banking information and directed them to Telegram groups populated with numerous fake accounts controlled by the fraud ring.
These accounts created the illusion of active trading and profitable investments, encouraging victims to continue depositing increasingly large sums of money.
When victims attempted to withdraw their funds, the suspects allegedly claimed their accounts had been frozen or that taxes and additional fees had to be paid, thereby preventing any withdrawals while appropriating all of the victims’ funds.
Card-game scam involved 6 Filipinos in Ho Chi Minh City
Police in Ho Chi Minh City in July arrested six Philippine nationals for allegedly orchestrating an elaborate card-game scam that defrauded foreign tourists of some US$10,000.
The suspects primarily targeted elderly tourists traveling alone.
After gaining their trust, the suspects were accused of persuading the victims to accompany them to a rented location.
The staged victories were designed to convince the victims that they could easily make money.
Once that confidence had been established, another participant, posing as a frustrated loser, would insist on continuing the game in an attempt to recover losses.
The suspect allegedly used fake bank notes and other deceptive tactics to create the impression that they possessed sufficient funds to cover high-stakes bets.
The group then claimed that both sides needed to prove their financial capacity before raising the stakes, persuading victims to withdraw cash and return to the gambling location.
After the victims returned with the money, the suspects used distraction techniques or exploited moments when the victims let their guard down to obtain the cash before fleeing the scene.
