Ministry of Public Security rewards the task force that arrested 3 Chinese people who stole ATM accounts

On the morning of September 20, Nghe An Police held an award ceremony for Task Force T919 for their outstanding achievements in successfully arresting three Chinese nationals who stole ATM card information to appropriate customers' assets.

Colonel Nguyen Manh Hung - Deputy Director of Nghe An Police and Mr. Dau Vinh Thinh - Member of the Standing Committee of the City Party Committee, Vice Chairman of Vinh City People's Committee awarded the project team. Photo: Pham Bang

On behalf of the Special Task Force, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Huu Cuong - Deputy Head of Vinh City Police said that after receiving information from the bank reporting that some subjects installed electronic devices at ATMs to steal customers' account information, Vinh City Police established Special Task Force T919 to verify and collect information.

During the monitoring process, the Task Force identified 3 Chinese subjects entering Vietnam and traveling to Vinh City to commit the crime. "This is a professional group, with IT skills, sophisticated tricks, and frequent travel between locations, causing many difficulties for the investigation," said Lieutenant Colonel Cuong, adding that these subjects only entered Vietnam for 1 month and then returned home. Their areas of operation span the entire country, especially in provinces with a large number of tourists such as Kien Giang and Khanh Hoa.

3 subjects Duong Truong Tai, Dang Thong Thong, Luyen Vu (from left to right). Photo by D.V.

After being arrested, these subjects refused to confess. In addition, the language barrier greatly affected the process of clarifying information. Using many professional measures, up to this point, the subjects have confessed to all their crimes.

On September 20, the Vinh City Police Department issued a decision to prosecute the case and prosecute three suspects: Yang Chang Cai, also known as Duong Truong Tai (born in 1986), Denh Cong Cong, also known as Dang Thong Thong (born in 1990) and Lian Yu, also known as Luyen Vu (born in 1985), all residing in Jiangxi Province, China, for the crime of "Using computer networks, telecommunications networks, and electronic means to commit acts of property appropriation", as prescribed in Article 290 of the 2015 Penal Code.

Colonel Nguyen Manh Hung - Deputy Director of Nghe An Police emphasized the danger of high-tech crimes. Photo: Pham Bang

Praising and recognizing the achievements of the Task Force, Colonel Nguyen Manh Hung - Deputy Director of Nghe An Police said that high-tech crimes are no longer anonymous but have become more and more present, operating in a more complex manner with many professional and sophisticated tricks.

"This type of crime is transnational in nature, has information technology capabilities and can operate in many fields, so the work of grasping the situation, detecting and combating it needs to be done better," said Colonel Hung.

The head of the Nghe An Police Investigation Agency said that the T919 case left many valuable lessons for the Vinh City Police in particular and other units in general in the fight against this type of crime. Besides, it also raised many issues regarding the management of foreigners, especially Chinese people when entering Vietnam.

More than 300 ATM cards were brought from China by the subjects. Photo: D.V

“This crime can operate in many fields and locations, so the police must have a full awareness to promptly grasp the situation, detect and combat it. We are determined not to let crime run rampant, affecting the rights and interests of the people,” Colonel Hung affirmed.

In recognition of the achievements of the Task Force, the Ministry of Public Security, Nghe An Provincial Police, and Vinh City People's Committee awarded the Task Force 70 million VND.

On September 11, Vinh City Police, in coordination with the Department of Cyber ​​Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention (Ministry of Public Security), the Foreign Security Department and the Criminal Police Department of Nghe An Province Police, and Vietinbank raided a hotel in Vinh City and arrested three suspects: Duong Truong Tai, Dang Thong Thong and Luyen Vu. At the scene, the task force seized 333 bank cards made in China; 3 electronic devices, 2 laptops, screwdrivers, scissors, tape, glue, etc.

The investigation team determined that of the 333 bank cards seized from the subjects, 319 had been scanned for account holder information and 14 were blank. The subjects withdrew nearly VND300 million from the accounts of 22 cards. In addition, in the 2 laptops, there were 7 memory cards containing 1,000 bank accounts that had been scanned for data.

The method of these subjects is to use a screwdriver to remove the keyboard protection plate, attach an electronic device with a super small camera on top to record the ATM card login password. Next, they attach an electronic device with a super small camera to the card reader slot to collect information about the card number, account number, bank name, amount of money, and cardholder. This information is then sent to China to be decoded and entered into fake ATM cards for these subjects to withdraw money. Currently, the case is being further investigated and expanded.