Creating a fake fanpage for a tourist facility, two sisters scammed more than 500 people
By impersonating hotel fanpages, two sisters, Quach Thi Thu and Quach Thi Thu Hang, defrauded and appropriated 2 billion VND from more than 500 tourists.
Accordingly, through the investigation process, the Criminal Police Department, Lao Cai Provincial Police discovered many fake fanpages of hotels and villas in Sa Pa ward, Lao Cai province. The modus operandi of the subjects was to receive deposits to defraud,appropriation of propertyof many tourists across the country.
Through professional measures, the authorities identified Quach Thi Thu Hang (born in 2001, residing in residential group 3, Tan Dan ward, Thanh Hoa province) and her sister Quach Thi Thu (born in 1998, residing in Lap Ai village, Song Giang commune, Gia Binh district, Bac Ninh province) as the subjects using fake fanpages to appropriate property.
On July 9, the police simultaneously conducted inspections, summoned 15 subjects and related people to work, searched and seized 7 mobile phones, 14 used phone SIM cards, 150 million VND, 11 gold rings and many objects, documents, books, and electronic data related to the fraud.
At the Investigation Police Agency, Quach Thi Thu and Quach Thi Thu Hang confessed: Due to having no money for personal expenses and having worked as hotel booking brokers, Hang and Thu came up with the idea of defrauding and appropriating tourists' property.
To carry out the above intention, Thu and Hang bought and used fake fanpages with the names of hotels and villas across the country, along with 18 bank account numbers and many phone numbers of network operators. The trick of the subjects is that when tourists contact to book a room via fanpage, they will provide a bank account number that is not their own and require the guests to deposit 50% of the room price in advance to reserve the room. When receiving the deposit from the guests, the subjects will block communication and appropriate the above amount.
To conceal their crimes, after successfully defrauding and appropriating customers’ assets, the two subjects deleted the old fanpages and continued to create new similar fanpages to continue committing crimes. Using the above tricks, Hang and Thu have appropriated more than 500 tourists with a total amount of over 2 billion VND.
