Beware of car fraud and theft

Many tricks to defraud property

At the end of July 2024, public opinion was stirred up by the incident of Tran Thi H. - a saleswoman of an auto shop in Vinh city, who committed 13 frauds, appropriating 13 cars worth more than 10 billion VND from people in Nghe An province.

According to the investigation results of the Office of the Criminal Police Department (Provincial Police): During the period from April 2023 to July 2024, due to losses in investing in virtual currency online, in order to have money to pay off debt, Tran Thi H. contacted previous car buyers that H. had consulted to inform them that the car company they had purchased from was having a tax refund promotion program and giving away accessory packages equivalent to 10% of the car's value; but required customers to give the car and car documents to H.

After taking the customer's car, Tran Thi H. pawned it. In addition, H. also went to car rental shops in Vinh city, Quynh Luu, Hoang Mai town to rent cars and then pawned them to get money to pay off debts, spend for personal expenses and invest in virtual currency.

Currently, the case is being further investigated by the Investigation Police Agency (Provincial Police).

Previously, Quynh Luu District Police had dismantled a car rental ring, forged documents to mortgage and appropriate property. The subjects operated in many areas in Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Thanh Hoa provinces...

The ringleaders are Dau Duc Bang (born 1991), residing in Quynh Van commune, Quynh Luu district, and Nguyen Ngoc Tinh (born 1991), residing in Quynh Xuan ward, Hoang Mai town. To gain the trust of the victims, the subjects pretended to be successful young businessmen, specializing in large projects.

At the same time, go online to search for companies and stores that specialize in self-drive car rental in many provinces and cities to rent a car.

After renting it, they brought it to Nghe An and forged documents such as vehicle purchase and sale papers, vehicle transfer papers, and vehicle purchase and sale authorization papers, then sold it to Ho Trong Tam (born in 1989), residing in Ngoc Son commune, Quynh Luu district, to divide the money.

Even though he knew that Bang and Tinh's cars were fraudulent, Tam still agreed to buy them for between 150 million and 300 million VND/car.

After collecting sufficient documents and evidence, Quynh Luu District Police simultaneously searched 27 locations in Nghe An, Thanh Hoa, Ha Tinh provinces..., arrested subjects for fraud, appropriation of property, and consumption of property obtained by others through criminal acts; seized 22 cars as evidence of the case.

In Nghe An, there was a case where a car owner sold the car to someone else, then came back to steal it. Specifically, on the afternoon of March 7, 2024, Mr. Tran Duc H., residing in Hung Phuc Ward (Vinh City), parked his family's car in alley 64, Nguyen Sy Sach Street (Vinh City), about 200m from his house. On the morning of March 8, when he went to exercise, Mr. H. still saw his car in the same location.

However, on the morning of March 9, he discovered that his family's car had disappeared. The incident was shared by Mr. H. on social media. Later, Mr. H.'s family car was found at the Thanh Chi Commune Health Station, Thanh Chuong District.

After investigation and verification, Vinh City Police temporarily detained Nguyen Tu Tuan (44 years old, residing in Ben Thuy ward, Vinh city) and Nguyen Tu Dung (39 years old, residing in Thanh Huong commune, Thanh Chuong district) to investigate the act of property theft.

According to the case file: In February 2024, Tuan sold a Toyota car to Mr. Tran Duc H. for 340 million VND but still kept a set of keys. Later, due to debt, Tuan had the idea of ​​stealing the car to sell to pay off the debt, so he gave the keys and discussed with his younger brother, Nguyen Tu Dung, to steal Mr. H.'s car and hide it at the commune health station in Thanh Chuong district.

Dung was later arrested by the authorities while hiding in Hoc Mon district, Ho Chi Minh City; Tuan was arrested at his home on April 25, 2024.

Increasing vehicle theft and vandalism

In addition to fraudulent acts, criminals also take advantage of people's carelessness when parking their cars in deserted areas, without supervision, out of sight to steal car accessories such as removing tires, breaking mirrors or breaking car windows to steal valuables in the car such as phones, handbags, cash, etc.

Typically, at noon on February 22, 2024, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Th. (residing in Ben Thuy ward, Vinh city) parked his Honda City car on Pham Dinh Toai street, in front of the Provincial People's Court, opposite Vinh International Hospital. When he finished his work and returned to his car, he was shocked to discover that the passenger side window had been broken, and the thief had stolen his crossbody bag, which contained money and all his documents.

Or on December 31, 2023, Ms. LTO, in Ha Huy Tap ward, Vinh city, went to attend the year-end party at the Yen Son cultural house, parked her car on the sidewalk and had the window of the passenger seat broken by a thief, and her wallet was stolen from her bag placed on the car seat.

In addition to the situation of smashing car windows to steal property, the recent vandalism of cars parked on the street (flat tires, scratched paint, punctured tires, broken mirrors...) has raised concerns about security and order, and at the same time, caused confusion, anxiety and frustration for many people in Vinh city.

Especially for those who are forced to park on the roadside overnight, or go to places without public parking. Typically, on the night of July 3, many cars parked on Cao Huy Dinh Street, in Block 15, Truong Thi Ward (Vinh City) were suddenly punctured by bad guys.

Or the incident of some cars parked on the side of the road near Nghe An Maternity and Pediatrics Hospital having their tires punctured was reported by people on social networks.

Increased vigilance

According to the authorities, the cause of car theft is due to the owner's negligence and lack of vigilance. Many people have a subjective mentality of leaving their cars in front of their houses or in public places without anyone watching them; cars without alarm systems or safety equipment... have created conditions for bad guys to commit crimes.

On the other hand, some people have the habit of considering their cars as “mobile homes” so they often leave their belongings (handbags, wallets, phones, etc.) in the car.

To proactively prevent car theft crimes, authorities recommend that people need to raise their vigilance, take measures to protect and preserve their property, and not give bad guys the opportunity to commit crimes.

When leaving the vehicle, people should not leave valuables in the car; do not park the car in a place that is out of sight and where there are few passersby. In case there is no parking space in the house and the car is parked in front of the house, it is necessary to install surveillance cameras, alarm devices, etc.

For businesses and individuals renting self-driving cars, it is necessary to carefully verify the information of the renter; fully implement procedures and legally binding measures for car renters to avoid unfortunate risks.

In particular, through the recent case of 13 car owners being scammed and having their property appropriated by a sales employee of an auto shop in Vinh city, the Investigation Police Agency of Nghe An province recommends that people should not be gullible with unverified promotional information; when discovering cases of illegal property mortgage, promptly report to the nearest police agency for timely handling.

Currently, Vinh City Police are implementing a project to build a camera system to monitor security and handle traffic violations in the city.

This is also one of the solutions to prevent and limit theft and property damage related to cars that have occurred recently.