How did these individuals scam people into buying tracking software, eavesdropping software, and software for secretly reading phone messages?

On October 30th, the Investigation Agency of the Hai Duong Provincial Police provided detailed information about a fraud case involving the sale of software that supposedly allowed for eavesdropping on phone calls, reading text messages, monitoring, and locating phones. This case serves as another cautionary tale for many gullible individuals. In reality, no software can monitor or secretly read someone else's text messages. Therefore, due to naivety and gullibility, users can easily fall into the trap of fraudsters.

"Hello everyone, in life, no one can predict what will happen, including whether our spouses will cheat or not. So today, our company would like to introduce you to a software for tracking and monitoring on social media platforms such as Zalo, Facebook, Viber, and several other social media platforms. Our software has the function of tracking, monitoring, secretly reading messages, and locating the other person's whereabouts."Around the beginning of May 2023, Ms. NT O (residing in Thai Binh) accidentally read an advertisement on social media. Because she needed to use the software, Ms. O accessed it to learn more and was instructed to add "Ktv Manh" as a friend on Zalo.

During the conversation, Ms. O was instructed by a man on how to use the software; he requested her to transfer money to use the software, purchase codes, and bypass security. Trusting the promises of the perpetrators, Ms. O repeatedly transferred money to the account requested by this person. The first time, she transferred 800,000 VND; the second time 3.8 million VND; the third time over 1.9 million VND; 1.8 million VND; and the last time 3 million VND.

After transferring money to the account requested by the perpetrators, Ms. O still couldn't access the software. She contacted the perpetrator using the Zalo account "Van Quang Hiteck" to exchange information, but the perpetrator demanded more money before she could use the software. Suspecting she had been scammed, Ms. O refused to transfer the money. She then tried to contact the perpetrator again, but her number was blocked; the total amount lost was over 11 million VND.

The second case involves Mr. PVS (residing in Ho Chi Minh City). While accessing Facebook, Mr. S also read an advertisement for "Van Quang GPS Tracking Software Company" selling phone tracking software. Because he needed the software, Mr. S messaged the number 07038… and was added as a friend on Zalo as "Van Quang Hitech". Through conversations, Mr. S was instructed by a man on how to install and use the software and asked to transfer money to an account under the name Dao Thanh Binh. Trusting them, Mr. S transferred a total of 26 million VND to the perpetrators. After transferring the money and finding that the software was not working, Mr. S tried to contact the perpetrators again but his number was blocked.

After receiving the victim's report, based on the collected documents, the Office of the Criminal Investigation Agency of the Hai Duong Provincial Police issued a decision to initiate a criminal case and prosecute three individuals: Do Viet Hung (born in 1989), Le Truong Giang (born in 2000), and Dao Thanh Binh (born in 1991, all residing in Vinh Phuc province).

During the investigation, authorities clarified that around the end of April 2023, Hung rented an apartment in Ward 26, Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City, to live in and sell phone tracking and monitoring software via social media. Hung provided false information claiming that he could monitor, eavesdrop on, locate, and secretly read text messages on other people's phones, leading them to believe him and transfer money to buy the software.

To carry out the scam, Hung prepared two websites, https://trackinggiamsat.com and https://dinhvitoanquoc24.top, to guide customers to access them. Hung created and used a Facebook fan page called "WPTT GPS Tracking Software Company" from June 9th onwards, then hired people to run advertisements claiming his software could monitor and track phones. If customers messaged to inquire, these fan pages would automatically reply, instructing them to add the phone number registered on the advertised Zalo account for further discussion and consultation.

The suspect purchased three phone SIM cards and then created three Zalo accounts with the names "Van Quang Hiteck," "Ktv Manh," and "Quang Canh Ktv." These were the phone numbers advertised in the promotional sections of the two aforementioned fan pages.

In early May 2023, Hung persuaded Giang to join him in committing fraud to seize property; on June 1st, Hung invited Binh to participate in the scam. The three defendants agreed that Hung and Binh would manage the Fanpage “WPTT Positioning Software Company” and instruct customers to contact the phone number 070381… with Zalo “Van Quang Hiteck” and the number 090458… with Zalo “Quang Canh Ktv” for communication. This Fanpage was registered on two phones belonging to Binh and Hung for use.

Giang manages the fanpage "JPS High-Tech Software Company" and directs customers to contact the phone number 077270… with the Zalo account “Ktv Mạnh” for communication. This fanpage is registered on two of Giang's phones, which Giang uses.

The information and advice given to customers are exchanged directly among the perpetrators as they plan how to scam them. They share mobile phones and Zalo accounts; if one person is busy, the other will answer the call and continue advising the customer to facilitate the scam.

The money scammed from customers was transferred to account number 00000… under the name Tran Van Quang and number 0938395… under the name To Quang Canh. If these accounts malfunctioned, the money could be transferred to another account, and then transferred to Hung for general management and expenses. In addition to covering food, accommodation, and advertising expenses, Hung gave Giang and Binh 7 million dong each per month.

In this case, the perpetrators employed very sophisticated methods. To steal the victims' money, after instructing them to add the aforementioned Zalo accounts as friends, the defendants would advise them that the company sold software capable of eavesdropping on phone calls, reading Zalo messages, monitoring, and locating phones. They would also send links to the websites https://trackinggiamsat.com and https://dinhvitoanquoc24.top, instructing customers to access and use the software. Customers were then required to transfer 800,000 VND as a software usage fee to the company.

Once the customer agrees, the suspects will instruct them on how to transfer money to the account of To Quang Canh or Tran Van Quang. After receiving the money, the suspects provide the customer with an access password: “id9756k” (for the website https://trackinggiamsat.com) or “468568” (for https://dinhvitoanquoc24.top) and instruct them to log in. At this point, the software displays 20 interfaces for applications such as Zalo, Facebook, Telegram, chat, etc., and service packages of 12 months, 24 months, 5 years, and lifetime. The suspects will then inform the customer of the software usage fee according to the corresponding package: 3 million VND, 6 million VND, 12 million VND, and 15 million VND.

When customers agree and transfer money to the account of To Quang Canh or Tran Van Quang, the perpetrators then provide the customer with the password "MTH946" (for the websites https://trackinggiamsat.com and https://dinhvitoanquoc24.top) and instruct them to log in. Upon logging in, the customer is unable to access the account and sees no information about monitoring or locating the desired phone number. When they contact the perpetrators, the perpetrators give other reasons such as: password cracking, firewall bypass, tax identification number removal, data roaming, technician fees, file retention fees, etc., to get the customer to transfer more money to their account. After the customer transfers the money, the perpetrators block all communication.

Using this method, within one month, the defendants defrauded 21 victims of more than 135 million VND. The case is currently under further investigation.