Warning about scams related to summer experience activities.

Sophisticated scam tactics

Recently, the Ministry of Public Security warned the public about the situation where criminals create fake websites and Facebook pages impersonating universities and training centers, advertising training courses, military or police summer camps/semesters... for children to target parents in need and trick them into paying money to participate, thereby defrauding them of their money.

When parents click on the advertisement, they immediately receive automated messages introducing the course along with a series of attractive offers: "50% discount", "Free first 2 weeks", or "Special scholarship for the first 100 parents"; "Early registration offers a discounted price, if you wait until the summer break, the tuition will be double"... making parents easily believe and quickly register their personal information – this is the first trap that opens up a sophisticated scam scenario.

In Nghe An province, according to information from the Criminal Police Department, authorities have recently discovered online scams targeting parents who want their children to participate in competitions, summer courses, experiential activities, life skills training, and sports training. The perpetrators create Facebook pages such as "Summer Military Camp," "Summer Retreat," "Chess Course," "Marathon Training Course," "Children's Talent Competition," etc., to attract the attention of victims.

When registering, parents are instructed to complete "tasks" or participate in "surveys" with the promise of a refund along with a commission.

Specifically, they will be invited to a Telegram group to participate in "tasks to increase engagement for sponsoring brands." The group already has a number of members, in which only the parents are real people, while the rest are a team of scammers posing as teachers, secretaries, other parents, etc. The "tasks" are to rate and like the brand's posts, along with making small initial deposits and withdrawals (for example: depositing 300,000 VND and withdrawing 310,000 VND).

Once trust is established, the "task" fee gradually increases until it becomes impossible to withdraw, requiring additional funds to "unlock." If parents express suspicion, another "parent" (actually a scammer) will send a private message, encouraging them to continue completing the task.

The victim only realizes the problem when they are no longer able to borrow money, but by then the money is gone and cannot be recovered.

A typical case is that of a 38-year-old woman residing in Vinh City who reported being scammed. Specifically, Ms. T. (name changed) accidentally came across the "Military Summer" Fanpage with 3,300 followers, which advertised a military training program, and decided to check it out. Afterward, she was instructed to register through the Fanpage and received information about the military training courses and accompanying benefits from someone claiming to be a consultant.

Next, she was instructed to register on Telegram to receive information about the course. According to the consultant, because Ms. T. registered during the sponsorship period, there was no cost. If she registered after May, the cost of participating in the military training program organized by this unit would be 3.2 million VND. However, according to the consultant, because of the sponsorship from a brand, participants in the Military Training Program must increase interaction with the brand by purchasing products to promote the brand; the purchase price will be reimbursed, and an additional 10% commission will be added for each purchase.

Ms. T was then added to a Telegram group with 10 members, including 6 parents like herself. According to the instructions, the group of parents had to complete 5 tasks involving purchasing items to increase engagement for the sponsor. Parents were directed to a link to register a dedicated account for the system to make purchases. For the first task, members purchased an item worth 560,000 VND. After completion, approximately 3-5 minutes later, Ms. T received 616,000 VND in her account, including the principal amount and a 10% commission.

For the second and third tasks, as the value of the items increased, Ms. T received her principal and commission back, just like in the first task. For the fourth task, the consultant required members to complete two consecutive orders, one consisting of two products worth 50 and 98 million VND, along with a "final settlement order" of over 285 million VND.

Members transfer money to purchase items in order, take photos of the receipts, and send them sequentially. Ms. T. deposited money to complete two orders, but due to not reading the instructions carefully, she only sent photos and details for one order. She was then asked to repeat the process from the beginning, sending the correct and complete photos and details in order to receive a refund. Failure to complete the process within 10 minutes would result in her account being frozen.

Out of fear, Ms. T. had to borrow money to continue the "task." At this point, three people in the group announced they had completed the task and received their money and commission, while Ms. T. and another parent, due to performing the actions in the wrong order, were not counted as having completed the task and were asked to complete an additional task of purchasing an order worth 317 million VND to "compensate," and upon completion, they would be reimbursed for the money from the two previous orders.

However, at this point, Ms. T. was unable to raise enough money to continue the task. She pleaded for her money back, but to no avail. Later, the Telegram group was deleted, and the accounts of the two consultants became unreachable. It was then that Ms. T. realized she had just lost a large sum of money (nearly 1 billion VND) to the scammers.

Increase vigilance.

In reality, the tactic of exploiting social media to commit fraud and seize property under the guise of introducing and advising parents to register their children for courses, experiential activities, and training is not a new trick. In 2024, the Nghe An Provincial Police also issued Document No. 1622/CAT-PC02 on preventing online fraud crimes through the impersonation of summer courses.

Specifically, it is requested that the Nghe An Department of Education and Training inform 100% of educational institutions in the province about the methods and tactics of criminals; and that the principals of primary schools conduct awareness campaigns to disseminate information about the methods and tactics of criminals to parents and students to enhance vigilance and proactively prevent crime.

Conduct a review and inform parents about reputable summer learning and training centers and organizations with clear addresses in each area so they can research and register; limit parents and students from registering for courses at online educational institutions without clear addresses to prevent fraud.

To prevent people from being scammed with similar tactics during the summer of 2025, authorities advise parents who want their children to participate in summer courses, summer camps, or military/police training programs to thoroughly research before registering. In particular, they should be cautious about any financial transactions related to these activities, carefully checking and confirming everything before proceeding. It is best to visit the organizing agency or unit in person to inquire and register.

According to investigators from the Criminal Police Department (Nghe An Provincial Police), it is currently very difficult to distinguish between real and fake Fanpages on social media. Therefore, parents need to check the transparency section of the page to see if the administrator is from abroad. If so, the risk of fraud is high.

Because when we are looking for information about summer camps in Vietnam, the page administrators must be Vietnamese and managed in Vietnam. On the other hand, if you look closely, you can see that fake Fanpages used by scammers will name themselves after the year. For example, if it's 2025, they will change the name of a Fanpage with many followers to the name of the program they want to impersonate + 2025. For example, "Junior Military Training Camp 2025".

Furthermore, if the consultation process shows signs of being taken to a Telegram group or requiring participation in surveys or clicking on suspicious links, you should carefully consider it. Because organizers usually post information publicly on official websites and in the press, verifying the information from multiple sources is essential.

The Ministry of Public Security also advises people to be vigilant and only register and transfer money after thoroughly researching the information of the organizing unit. If you detect any signs of fraud or embezzlement, you should quickly report it to the nearest police station and also report it through the VneID application.