Clarifying the behavior of a group of scammers selling goods at high prices in Nghe An

On the morning of September 29, Lieutenant Colonel Tran Van Hung - Deputy Head of Thanh Chuong District Police said that Thanh Chuong District Police are coordinating with Nghi Loc District Police to verify and clarify a group of subjects who have taken advantage of "customer gratitude and care" to sell products with fraudulent tricks and deceive customers.

Company's letter of introduction sent to Nghi Phuong commune. Photo: PB

Previously, on September 27, 2018, in Nghi Phuong commune, a group of 4 people brought a letter of introduction from "Thien An Production - Trade & Development Company, address 124 Vinh Tuy, Hai Ba Trung district, Hanoi" to the headquarters of Nghi Phuong commune People's Committee to ask for permission to organize a program to thank and take care of customers who bought the company's products.

Using the introduction letter from the leader of Nghi Phuong commune, the above group of subjects went to hamlets 11, 12, Nghi Phuong commune and some hamlets of Nghi Dong commune to introduce themselves as "maintaining, guaranteeing products and showing gratitude to customers".

Taking advantage of people's lack of information and their desire to receive promotional gifts and cheap goods, these subjects began to introduce and sell household products with very sophisticated tricks.

“The trick was to sell some initial products such as flashlights, pots... and then return the money. Then they offered some products with higher prices such as rice cookers (announced to be worth 2.6 million VND) and asked people to give the exact amount of 2.6 million VND and they would put it back in the envelope to return... When people opened it, they discovered that the envelope the company returned contained only a 50,000 VND bill and scraps of paper,” said Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Trong Tue - Head of Nghi Loc District Police.

When the residents reacted, the group gave them some plastic pots and tubs and asked them to share them. While the residents were sharing, the group got in the car and left the area.

Many people in Nghi Phuong commune (Nghi Loc) participated and bought products such as pots, flashlights... Photo provided by the police

After receiving the report, identifying these acts as signs of fraud and property appropriation, Nghi Loc District Police proceeded to track down the activities of this group. Identifying that this group was operating in Thanh Chuong District, Nghi Loc District Police sent a working group to coordinate with Thanh Chuong District Police.

According to Lieutenant Colonel Tran Van Hung - Deputy Chief of Thanh Chuong District Police, in Thanh Chuong there also appeared a group of subjects with activities similar to those in Nghi Loc District. In Thanh Chuong District there were 2 groups, one group in Thanh Tuong Commune had finished and returned, and the other group in Thanh Phong Commune was still doing it when it was discovered.

Currently, Thanh Chuong District Police have temporarily detained these products and brought these subjects to the police headquarters to clarify their actions. Initially, these subjects have not been able to present invoices or documents for the above products.

“Initial verification showed that these subjects rented a hotel in Vinh City to stay, then divided into many groups, each group of about 4-5 people, to travel to different localities to operate, the members of the groups hardly knew each other,” said Lieutenant Colonel Hung.

These subjects also distributed invitations to households to participate and promised gifts to those who arrived early. Photo: PB

The police agency informs people to be aware, raise vigilance and not participate in programs of the above form to avoid being scammed. Those who are related to the behavior of the above group of subjects are requested to contact and go to the police agency to report the incident.