Arrest of subject who fraudulently sold plane tickets to overseas Vietnamese repatriating

The Cyber ​​Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention Department and Thai Hoa Town Police said that the unit has just co-chaired the arrest of Ho Son Tung (born in 1992), residing in Son Phu commune, Huong Son district, Ha Tinh province for the act offraud and appropriation of property

Subject Ho Son Tung at the police station. Photo: Hong Ngoc

During the investigation, it was determined that around March 2021, many Vietnamese people living abroad wanted to return to Vietnam to avoid the epidemic. However, due to the limited number of flights and passengers on each flight, citizens who wanted to return to Vietnam had to register and have the protection of the Vietnamese Embassy in the country. Taking advantage of that, Tung came up with the idea of ​​defrauding and appropriating the assets of Vietnamese citizens living abroad who wanted to return to the country in the form of buying and selling airline tickets.

To carry out his actions, Tung used fake Facebook accounts that he created under the guise of someone who had returned to Vietnam during the Covid-19 pandemic and wanted to help, share, and guide those still stranded abroad to return home. Through overseas Vietnamese groups and associations on Facebook, Tung posted information to search for citizens who wanted to return to Vietnam. When people in need contacted him, Tung instructed them to send requests to the fake email address of the Vietnamese Embassy that Tung had set up.

To gain the victim's trust, Tung requested that they send along pictures and documents such as passports, Covid-19 vaccination certificates, Covid-19 test certificates, etc. After about 1 to 2 days, Tung used this fake email to reply to the citizen with the content that their request had been approved; at the same time, he sent along the phone number registered for the Zalo account (created by Tung) so that the victim could directly contact and receive advice on flight schedules and travel schedules. Through this Zalo account, Tung instructed the victim to transfer money to buy plane tickets.

After gaining the victim's trust, Tung asked the victim to transfer money to the accounts of companies and individuals specializing in buying and selling electronic devices such as mobile phones, laptops, etc. Then, the subject would order electronic devices corresponding to the amount of money transferred by the victims. When receiving the electronic devices, Tung continued to post them on Fanpages to sell them to earn cash.

According to initial statements, from March 2021 to the time of his arrest (April 13, 2022), Ho Son Tung had defrauded and appropriated money from more than 20 victims nationwide. Initially, the police identified and worked with 2 victims with a total amount of money that Tung had appropriated of 147 million VND.

Currently, Ho Son Tung has been temporarily detained by the Investigation Police Agency of Thai Hoa Town Police to continue investigating and expanding the case.