Nearly 100 million VND lost due to a scam guiding people on how to 'increase their credit card limit'.
Due to her gullibility and belief in the words of an imposter posing as a bank employee who called to advise and guide her on increasing her credit card limit to receive shopping vouchers, Ms. Lan Anh provided her account number and OTP code to the perpetrator and was subsequently defrauded of nearly 100 million VND from her account.
The Investigation Police Department of Nam Tu Liem District, Hanoi, announced that they have initiated a criminal case, indicted the suspects, and issued a temporary detention order against Phan Dinh Hung (born in 2002), residing in Quang Thanh commune, Quang Dien district, Thua Thien Hue province, and Cao Van Tuan (born in 1993), residing in Danh Thang commune, Hiep Hoa district, Bac Giang province, to investigate the crime of "Using computer networks, telecommunication networks, and electronic means to commit acts of property appropriation."
Previously, the Nam Tu Liem District Police received a report from Ms. Lan Anh, residing in Xuan Phuong Ward, Nam Tu Liem District, Hanoi, regarding a call from an individual posing as a bank employee who advised and instructed her on increasing her credit card limit to receive discount vouchers for purchases. After providing her account number and OTP code to the callers, Ms. Lan Anh's account was debited 95,159,000 VND.
The Nam Tu Liem District Police promptly organized a force in coordination with relevant units to verify information and conduct investigative activities. After a period of tracking down leads and employing a comprehensive range of professional methods, the Nam Tu Liem District Police arrested two suspects, Phan Dinh Hung and Cao Van Tuan, in Ho Chi Minh City and brought them to the headquarters for further investigation.
Initial investigations determined that in early July 2023, Phan Dinh Hung participated in the group "Group 1TD..." on the Telegram application, which was run by a Chinese national currently residing in Cambodia.
Initially, Hung was tasked with receiving orders (mobile phones) in Vietnam from large, branded mobile phone retailers. He would then sell them at used phone shops in Ho Chi Minh City and transfer the money to his contacts abroad. Because the workload was heavy, Hung hired Cao Van Tuan to handle the order collection for him.
Some time later, under the guidance of a Chinese national, Hung and Tuan were assigned the task of using the 028xxx phone number to contact and instruct people to upgrade their credit card limits in order to defraud them of their money.
Investigations revealed that these phone numbers all operate through Vietnamese internet platforms, but they are used to make calls and send messages from abroad to Vietnam, impersonating customer service representatives of various bank branches nationwide. When they instruct people to open credit cards, they are actually hijacking people's personal credit cards to purchase goods and convert the money into cash, which they then transfer abroad.
The Nam Tu Liem District Police have clarified that using this method, the suspects defrauded three other victims in Hanoi, Khanh Hoa, and Thanh Hoa of nearly 200 million VND. In addition to the aforementioned cases, the suspects confessed to defrauding numerous individuals nationwide, with the estimated amount of money transferred abroad reaching billions of VND.
During an emergency search of the two suspects' residences, the police seized 8 iPhone 14 Pro Max mobile phones; 1 Samsung Galaxy S8+ mobile phone; 1 Nokia mobile phone; and 1 computer system. Currently, the Criminal Investigation Department of Nam Tu Liem District Police is gathering documents and verifying the victims whose property was stolen in connection with the above-mentioned group of suspects.
