Nghe An: Impersonating doctors and fabricating "cure-all" treatment scenarios to swindle money from patients.
Enticed by advertisements promising "complete cure" on social media, many patients have sought out unlicensed medical facilities and placed their trust in individuals posing as doctors. Some have even been so convinced that they have turned against their own relatives for preventing them from continuing treatment.
When the blouse becomes the "ticket" to gaining trust.
In mid-August, after the police cracked down on the operation.A network impersonating doctors to provide medical examinations and treatment.Mr. Nguyen Hoang H. (51 years old, residing in Yen Thanh commune), whose address is at 5 Mai Hac De Street, Vinh Hung Ward, only recently realized he had been deceived. For the past few months, due to his excessive trust in the "doctors" there, he frequently complained to his family for preventing him from completing his treatment.
Mr. H. had been suffering from a herniated disc for many years. While browsing social media, he came across a Facebook account called "100% Safe and Effective Treatment for Bone and Joint Pain in Nghe An," which advertised a complete cure for this condition. He contacted them and was instructed to go alone to address number 5, Mai Hac De Street, Vinh Hung Ward. He was advised that the treatment would be inexpensive, so he only brought 2 million VND.
Although the facility lacked a sign bearing the clinic's name as advertised on social media, displaying only a vague sign that read "Phuc Tam 8," Mr. H. still trusted it, believing it to be a reputable clinic because he was warmly welcomed by staff in white coats who claimed to be leading "doctors" specializing in musculoskeletal disorders. Mr. H.'s trust grew even stronger after the team conducted a preliminary examination and administered three injections, immediately relieving his pain.
Mr. H. was then told by the "doctors" there that to completely cure his condition, he would need to follow a 3-year treatment plan costing 20 million VND. At this point, because he had complete trust in them, Mr. H. paid all the money he had brought with him and also called relatives to transfer more money.
Ms. Cao Thi Y., Mr. H.'s wife, recounted that because the amount of money was quite large, after receiving her husband's phone call, she had to ask for the name and address of the clinic where he was being treated. However, she realized something was amiss when the staff stubbornly refused to reveal the address. "Only when I said I would have an acquaintance bring the cash did they give me the address. But when I searched for the clinic's name online, I couldn't find any results, which only increased my suspicion," Ms. Y. said.
Ms. Y. said that, for some reason, her husband had been completely "brainwashed" by the people at the clinic to the point of trusting them absolutely. When his family back home discovered something unusual and refused to transfer the large sum of money, he became furious, calling home and berating his wife for the entire day. He insisted on defending the clinic.
The family then had to ask an acquaintance in Truong Vinh ward to go to this address to bring Mr. H. home. However, at this point, the people at the "clinic" issued an ultimatum: at least an additional 8 million VND, or half the cost of the new treatment course, was required for Mr. H. to be released, because he had already signed a commitment form for treatment.
Faced with this unreasonable coercion, Ms. Y's acquaintance took out her phone and filmed the incident live, threatening to report it to the police. She also demanded to see the clinic's operating license. Only then did the staff back down, agreeing to completely cancel the treatment plan.
Both sides agreed not to pay any more money; the clinic only retained the 2 million VND for the morning service that Mr. Huu had already paid. However, since returning home, Mr. Huu still trusted this "clinic" and often complained, claiming that his family was stingy and unwilling to pay for his treatment.
"Until the police announced the crackdown on this case, my husband insisted on going there for treatment every week. The family had to dissuade him repeatedly. I don't understand how they managed to convince people to trust them so much," Ms. Y. recounted.
Massage therapist impersonates doctor.
According to the police investigation, the "Phuc Tam 8" establishment was only registered to provide beauty care, spa, and sauna services, but it was illegally operating a large-scale consultation, examination, and treatment center for musculoskeletal diseases. Specifically, Vi Van Dong (26 years old, residing in Tien Dong commune), despite having only worked as a massage therapist at a musculoskeletal treatment facility, recognized the high profits and colluded with Vu Thi Ha (40 years old, residing in Tam Hop commune) to organize illegal examination and treatment activities under the guise of beauty care, spa, and sauna services.
During its operation, Dong hired 2 receptionists, 3 consultants, and 9 technicians, mostly people who had previously worked with Dong and Ha. All of them used aliases, and no one even knew who the owner was.
To attract customers, this group spent large sums of money on extensive social media advertising; creating a fake image of doctors and state-of-the-art equipment; and promising complete cures. When people in need of treatment contacted them, staff would send messages, make phone calls, and invite customers to the "Phuc Tam 8" facility. There, staff used a pre-prepared script to advise and introduce treatment packages ranging from 3 million to 30 million VND, including treatment using high-frequency wave therapy.
Furthermore, during the treatment process, the consultants continued to impersonate doctors, introducing the "nano calcium injection" method, advertising it as a quick way to restore bone and joint health at a price of 5-10 million VND per injection. In reality, these individuals did not perform any treatment as advertised, but only carried out "fake injections" while customers were receiving massages, creating the illusion that the patients were receiving specialized treatment.
Currently, the Security Investigation Agency of the Nghe An Provincial Police has issued a decision to initiate a criminal case, indict the defendants, and order the temporary detention of Vi Van Dong, Vu Thi Ha, and Pham Ba Tai for the crime of "Fraudulent appropriation of property." According to the police, in just 5 months, from March 2026 to the present, this ring has defrauded nearly 300 victims, mainly elderly people; many of whom are in difficult circumstances.
In fact, this is not the first time in Nghe An that unlicensed clinics have been operating illegally, with practitioners impersonating doctors to lure and extort money from patients. Previously, Nghe An newspapers and radio and television stations reported on a facility in Vinh Phu ward.from an advertisement for underarm odor treatment at only 499,000 VND,The facility led customers through a series of services costing nearly 62 million VND in total. Notably, this establishment was not licensed to provide medical examination and treatment, yet those working there wore lab coats, claimed to be doctors, and performed invasive procedures. Following the newspaper's report, authorities investigated and took action, forcing the facility to cease operations.
Not only in urban areas, but also in mountainous communes, there have been instances of individuals and organizations wearing white coats.impersonating a doctorThey went to remote and rural areas to offer "free" health checkups, then sold health supplements at high prices. The Nghe An Department of Health then requested increased management and rectification of unlicensed medical examination and treatment activities, and warned people about false medical advertisements on social media.
