Man impersonating police officer forces male student to stage a kidnapping and demands ransom.
The perpetrators, posing as police officers, forced a male student to stage a kidnapping, subsequently demanding a ransom of 50 million VND from his family.
On May 30th, Major Ho Ngoc Son, Head of the Pho Chau Town Police (Huong Son District, Ha Tinh Province), announced that his unit had successfully thwarted a high-tech fraud case in the area.
Earlier, on the afternoon of May 29th, NCH (born in 2008, residing in Pho Chau town) unexpectedly received a phone call from a stranger, saying there was an undelivered order and requesting her to add him on the social media platform Zalo to send a picture of the order.
Immediately after becoming friends on Zalo, the suspect proactively video called H. The video showed a person in a police uniform interrogating another individual. The person being interrogated confessed that H. was involved in a drug trafficking ring.
Afterward, H. received an image of her "arrest warrant" along with numerous threats to keep it a secret, warning her that she would be arrested immediately if she revealed it. The perpetrator instructed H. to bring her national identity card, mobile phone, and laptop to a guesthouse in Pho Chau town for discreet questioning.
Out of fear, H. complied with the perpetrators' demands. At the motel, the perpetrators manipulated H. psychologically, forcing her to share screenshots and log into social media accounts such as Zalo, Messenger, and bank accounts to check if she was involved in the case. After the check, the perpetrators demanded that H. pay money to the investigating agency to prove her innocence.
To obtain the money, the perpetrators instructed H. to borrow money through her Apple ID (iPhone's iCloud account). After borrowing 3.2 million VND, H. transferred the entire amount to a bank account provided by the perpetrators. Not stopping there, the perpetrators then demanded that H. cooperate in staging a kidnapping to trick her parents into paying a ransom of 50 million VND for her release. The perpetrators prepared sample messages, instructed H. to send them to her parents, and repeatedly urged her family to transfer the money.
Immediately after receiving a report from H.'s family, the Pho Chau Town Police promptly prevented the money transfer and launched a search for H. After a short time, H. was found in a guesthouse in the area. The Pho Chau Town Police brought H. to the station, where they spoke with her and her family, explaining that this was a high-tech scam.
In addition, H.'s phone was completely locked because the perpetrators had logged into her iCloud account. The group contacted her again and demanded 6,300,000 VND in compensation to unlock her phone. The Pho Chau town police advised H. not to comply with the perpetrators' demands.
After being reunited with their son and confirming that the money was not lost, H's family was overjoyed and expressed their gratitude to the Pho Chau Town Police.
