Need for concerted action to deal with debt collection harassment
(Baonghean.vn) - After Nghe An Newspaper reported, many units have issued warnings to their staff and employees, and have taken positive actions. However, to completely resolve this situation, it is time for the coordinated participation of many units.
Don't make yourself "prey"
Ms. Hoang Phuong Thao - Head of the Department of Education and Training of Vinh City said that after Nghe An Newspaper published a series of articles, the unit also issued a document on rectifying cadres, teachers, employees and workers in black credit lending activities to send to the principals of kindergartens, primary schools, secondary schools, vocational education and continuing education centers and Nghe An province's gifted sports schools.
According to Ms. Thao, in the recent past, many organizations, individuals, cadres, teachers, staff and workers in schools in Vinh city have been harassed and terrorized by strange phone numbers calling and texting via Facebook, Zalo, Gmail... demanding that cadres, teachers, staff and workers in the school pay back a certain loan. This has greatly affected the honor and reputation of the above organizations and individuals, causing insecurity and insecurity in schools, creating a sense of panic for organizations and individuals who are being asked to pay debts and harassed even though they have not borrowed any loans or mortgaged any money.
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A principal in Nam Dan had his and his family's pictures posted online to ridicule him even though he did not borrow money. Photo: HT |
Faced with that situation, the Department of Education and Training coordinated with Vinh City Police to organize a fight to clarify the causes of the above incidents. In order to have accurate data to provide to Vinh City Police, the Department of Education and Training directed the Principals of schools to propagate and raise awareness for cadres, teachers, employees and workers not to borrow hot loans, high-interest loans, black credit loans from illegal organizations that affect the honor of other groups and individuals in the school.
The principal is responsible for strictly managing cadres, teachers, employees and workers in credit activities, recommending that all cadres, teachers, employees and workers in the school choose reputable financial institutions and banks to borrow money when needed. At the same time, review, compile statistics and make a list of cadres, teachers, employees and workers in the school who have been and are being harassed by black credit activities, including borrowers and non-borrowers.
Meanwhile, Mr. Tran Anh Tuan - Chief Inspector of the Department of Information and Communications said that the unit has recently received a number of complaints from the people and has started investigating. However, the initial investigation and handling work has encountered some difficulties due to the sophisticated tricks of the perpetrators. "To completely handle this situation, it is necessary to have the synchronous participation of many units, especially the cooperation of banks and network operators," said Mr. Tuan.
Mr. Tuan also advised people “not to become prey” when carelessly sharing personal information on social networks. Especially images of citizen identification cards, identity cards… “Many people do not borrow money but are called to terrorize, they also threaten their children and know all information about their family and children. After investigating, it was found that this information was shared by them on social networks, even sharing their monthly income. Doing so is turning yourself into prey for the perpetrators,” said Mr. Tuan.
In addition, this document was also sent to the Ministry of Education and Training, Nghe An Provincial People's Committee for reporting and sent to Nghe An Provincial Police for coordination in handling.
This document states that recently, according to the reflection of functional sectors and the situation at educational institutions, the activities of some credit organizations lending money of unknown origin were posted on apps, through messages of online applications, social networks, leaflets..., with advertisements of simple and quick procedures, attracting many participants, including some officials and teachers in the industry.
Individuals who borrow money in this form must accept high interest rates and complicated interest calculation methods, and after borrowing, they suffer many serious consequences. Many people said they had paid off their debts, but these subjects said they still owed money, so they were constantly asked to pay. To collect debts, these subjects are willing to put pressure on all relatives and colleagues related to the debtor, affecting the lives and reputations of many people, many of whom did not borrow any money, but there were still people calling and texting to terrorize and threaten. More seriously, they also used personal images to spread on social networks, send emails, call leaders, managers, and related individuals to denounce and pressure debt collection....
Police involved
Lieutenant Colonel Tran Duc Than - Head of the Criminal Police Department of Nghe An Province Police said that after Nghe An Newspaper published the first report, the unit immediately sent officers to meet the victims to verify the incident. In addition, the Criminal Police Department is also working with the bank to clarify the information reported by Nghe An Newspaper.
Meanwhile, answering the press, Lieutenant General Tran Ngoc Ha - Director of the Criminal Police Department (C02) of the Ministry of Public Security said that the situation of debt collection in a "terrorist" manner in recent years has had very complicated developments, and the leaders of the Ministry of Public Security have repeatedly directed units and localities to focus on solving it.
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A loan sharking ring via app has just been busted. Photo: CACC |
“After the police tightened their stance and resolutely handled the cases of throwing paint and pouring shrimp paste on debtors’ houses, this situation has decreased significantly, but recently many new methods and tricks have appeared, making it difficult for the police to handle the situation,” Lieutenant General Tran Ngoc Ha said, pointing out: “Investigating and handling acts of threatening to kill people, violating the health or property of citizens is the duty of the police, but when subjects use tricks such as calling relatives or organizations of debtors to influence them, even though it is wrong, it is not to the extent that the police should intervene.”
The head of the Criminal Police Department of the Ministry of Public Security also said that the debt collection situation mentioned above is mostly related to unsecured loans, high-interest loans, and illegal credit, but the subjects involved use many methods, on the one hand to deal with the authorities, on the other hand to exploit loopholes that the law has not clearly defined or adjusted. “When lending, the subjects negotiate with the debtors in many ways so that the interest rate is not high enough to be prosecuted for usury. In addition, the subjects ask the borrowers to provide personal information, information about their families, and organizations to consider debt collection measures…”, Lieutenant General Tran Ngoc Ha said.
According to Lieutenant General Tran Ngoc Ha, all signs and manifestations related to debt collection have been identified by the Ministry of Public Security, and are being handled step by step in coordination with relevant agencies. In particular, if there are cases of threats to life, health or property, people need to report to the nearest police agency for handling.
“In the long term, the Ministry of Public Security is coordinating to propose relevant agencies, especially the National Assembly Standing Committee and the National Assembly, to consider raising the penalty for usury to a higher level than the current 3 years in prison, including raising the administrative penalty. Second, it is recommended that the Ministry of Information and Communications and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism stipulate principles and codes of conduct regarding telephone information and social networks to ensure citizens’ privacy. These are issues that may need to be regulated by other laws, in addition to the Penal Code,” said Lieutenant General Tran Ngoc Ha.
On May 24, the Criminal Police Department of Hanoi Police coordinated with the Criminal Police Department (Ministry of Public Security) to dismantle the above transnational illegal credit ring. 300 suspects from across the country were summoned, including many foreigners.According to initial investigation, borrowers only need to take a photo of their ID card or citizen ID card, then use their phone contacts as collateral and send it via the app. With just this procedure, customers can borrow 2-30 million VND without having to meet or sign loan documents.Immediately after disbursement, the lending group will collect the interest, and the borrower will have to pay the principal within 3-5 days. In case the principal cannot be paid as committed, the amount will be multiplied to calculate at a "cutthroat" interest rate of more than 2,000%/year.
When they find that someone is unable to pay, the lending group will direct the debt collection department to text, call to threaten, and terrorize them and their relatives and contacts in the phone book. In many cases, they will crop and edit the borrower's image and post it on social media to smear and force them to pay the debt quickly.
