Young girl escapes 'online kidnapping' trap and blackmails nearly 1 billion VND
Hanoi City Police said that the Cyber Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention Department of Hanoi City Police has coordinated with functional units to promptly and successfully rescue a victim who was scammed by subjects using the trick of "online kidnapping".
Previously, on August 21, the Cyber Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention Department, Hanoi City Police received information from Dai Mo Ward Police about a family in the ward reporting that their daughter was kidnapped and blackmailed for nearly 1 billion VND. The victim was Ms. M (born in 2002, residing in Dai Mo Ward, Hanoi).
After verification, it was determined that Ms. M was moving to Ho Chi Minh City. The Department of Cyber Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention, Hanoi City Police quickly coordinated with Ho Chi Minh City Police to check and discover Ms. M at the back gate of Tan Son Nhat Airport.
After working, the police determined that Ms. M had been called by subjects impersonating police officers to inform them that she was involved in a drug trafficking and money laundering ring. The subjects controlled and manipulated the victim psychologically by forcing her to rent a hotel, cutting off contact with her family, and at the same time pressuring Ms. M to make a nude video and then asking her to move to Ho Chi Minh City to go to Cambodia.
The subjects used Ms. M’s images to send to her family, demanding that the family send her 1 billion VND as ransom or they would sell her into prostitution. The police agency propagated, explained the scam and brought Ms. M home safely.
Recently, many people, including many young people, have been threatened with “online kidnapping” by people impersonating police officers. Hanoi City Police recommends that people raise their vigilance and proactively inform their relatives and friends about the methods and tricks of this type of crime.
To work with people, the police will directly send invitations and summonses or send them through the local police; absolutely do not call people to ask them to transfer money to bank accounts or install software to serve the investigation.
It is recommended that schools should also regularly promote and warn students about fraudulent tricks to raise awareness of fraud prevention. At the same time, students and young people need to equip themselves with skills to identify fraudulent tricks to avoid falling into the traps of bad guys.
When detecting cases with signs of fraud as above, people need to immediately report to the nearest police agency for support.
