Investigating the fraud case of shamans divining 'love spells' advertised on social networks
To create trust, the subject asked the victim to send clothes to "perform ceremonies", "make love spells", "cut off spirits", "remove spells"..., and at the same time asked the victim to transfer money from 300,000 VND to 4 million VND.
On March 16, Hoa Binh Provincial Police said they are investigating and verifying a criminal case of "Fraudulent appropriation of property" that occurred on cyberspace.
Accordingly, from the beginning of 2024 to February 2025, the subjects used the Facebook page "Master Minh Makes Free Love Spells" later "Master Hai Makes Free Love Spells", posting many images and videos downloaded from the internet with content and images of shaman Bui Van Minh (born in 1970), residing in Man hamlet, Van Son commune, Lac Son district, Hoa Binh province performing worship ceremonies according to the customs and practices of the Muong ethnic group.
After someone sent a message to the Facebook page "Master Minh Makes Free Love Spells", the subjects used many Zalo accounts named "Bui Van Minh" or "Bui Van Hai" with many phone numbers to make friends and send messages to advise people who need to make "love spells", mend relationships, love, fortune... according to a pre-written script.
To gain the trust of these people, the subject also asked the victim to transfer clothes to the address of Man hamlet, Van Son commune, Lac Son district to "perform ceremonies", "make love charms", "cut off spirits", "remove charms"... and sent them some videos of the ceremonies that were edited and dubbed. For each "ceremony", the subjects asked the victim to transfer money from 300,000 VND to 4 million VND to many other bank accounts and then appropriated the money.
With the above method, on average each month the subjects earn about 50 million to 70 million VND, this money is used by the whole group for common expenses such as food, rent, games, and buying phones.
To serve the investigation and expand the case, the Security Investigation Agency of Hoa Binh Provincial Police widely propagates to the masses, local police to notify, review, if there is any information about crimes related to the above information, please contact the Security Investigation Agency of Hoa Binh Provincial Police, address: Security Investigation Department, Hoa Binh Provincial Police, Phuong Lam Ward, Hoa Binh City, Hoa Binh Province. On-duty phone number 069.2709.116 or contact Investigator Nguyen Trong Cuong, Phone number: 0915.569.116 for resolution.
