Nghe An issues Directive to strengthen solutions to prevent high-tech crimes

81 cases solved, 248 subjects arrested

Nghe An province authorities have continuously discovered many cases.high-tech crimesuch as organizing gambling, gambling, football betting on the internet, taking advantage of unlicensed e-commerce activities to raise capital, doing business in illegal multi-level marketing; installing copying devices, stealing card data (skimming devices) at ATMs to appropriate money in accounts; impersonating officials of state agencies, foreigners, delivery staff... to defraud and appropriate property.

The Chinese defendants were brought to trial by the People's Court of Nghe An province for using computer networks, telecommunications networks, and electronic means to commit acts of property appropriation.

According to investigation documents, these subjects secretly installed electronic devices with tiny cameras in ATMs, then stole data, made fake cards and appropriated money from many Vietnamese people.The subjects confessed to making 316 fake ATM cards, appropriating money from 29 customers from many provinces and cities in Vietnam, including Nghe An... with a total amount of more than 279 million VND.

Vinh City Police Department organized a crime scene reenactment of the case of 3 Chinese subjects making fake ATM cards. Photo: Duc Vu

Recently, on May 21, 2021, Nam Dan district police said: The unit has just issued a decision to prosecute the case, prosecute 2 defendants: Duong Van Tiep (born 1987), Duong Van Tu (born 1993), brothers, residing in Ky Anh district (Ha Tinh) for the act of "Fraudulent appropriation of property", by impersonating Viettel network employees, bank employees, calling many victims to appropriate 139 million VND.

Previously, in April 2021, Nam Dan District Police received a criminal complaint from Ms. D.TT, residing in Nam Anh Commune (Nam Dan) about a number of subjects using high technology to commit fraud and appropriate 89 million VND. Nam Dan District Police established a special project to fight. By 10:00 a.m. on May 13, 2021, Nam Dan District Police arrested two biological brothers, Duong Van Tiep and Duong Van Tu, urgently searched the subjects' residences, and seized 17 million VND, 1 ATM card, and 3 mobile phones.

Two brothers Duong Van Tiep and Duong Van Tu. Photo: Duc Vu

At the investigation agency, the two subjects confessed that they used calls on the Internet platform, impersonating Viettel network employees and bank employees to call the victims to inform them of the results of the random drawing, then asked the victims to transfer money to their bank accounts to receive the prize. In addition to appropriating VND 89 million from Ms. D.TT, residing in Nam Dan district, with similar tricks, from the beginning of March 2021 to mid-April 2021, Tiep and Tu defrauded many other victims residing in Son La, Tien Giang, Hung Yen, and Tay Ninh provinces to appropriate more than VND 50 million.

In addition, criminals also use methods and tricks such as selling lottery numbers, fake degrees, fake driving licenses, fake money, beautiful phone numbers online, taking over social network accounts, impersonating relatives and friends to appropriate property. For example, Ms. BTT in Nghi Quang commune, Nghi Loc district, because she listened to the invitation to play lottery from a Facebook account named "Nguyen Cong Thuan", she transferred a total of 400 million VND to the subject many times. After losing a lot of money, Ms. BTT reported to Nghi Loc district police.

After establishing Project 118L to fight, Nghi Loc Police identified 16 related subjects residing in Thua Thien Hue province, and arrested two subjects Nguyen Phuc and Nguyen Nhat Ron, both born in 1995. The case was then tried, Nguyen Nhat Ron was sentenced to 30 months in prison, Nguyen Phuc to 12 months in prison.

A number of high-tech criminals were arrested and prosecuted by Nghi Loc Police. Photo: CSCC

According to Nghi Loc District Police: High-tech crime is a new form of crime, with a particularly large nature and level of damage, and is placed on par with terrorist crimes by Interpol. Early identification of this type of crime, in a short time, Nghi Loc District Police have dismantled many major cases both in and outside the province.

One of the methods that high-tech criminals often use is to impersonate the police or prosecutors, make phone calls, forge arrest warrants and send them via Zalo to threaten victims involved in drug trafficking and money laundering and ask the victims to transfer all their money into their accounts for investigation. Or the criminals will create fake Facebook accounts pretending to be foreigners, then text to get to know gullible women to gain their trust. Then, they will announce that they are sending gifts from abroad and coordinate with their accomplices to ask the victims to send the cost of receiving the gifts.

Some other subjects find Facebook accounts selling online to trick people into ordering goods in large quantities, like the case of Nguyen Minh Tuan in Hai Lang district, Quang Tri province.

Tuan created a Facebook page impersonating a Vietnamese living abroad to order goods from victims in the country. After deceiving them into placing orders and transferring money, Tuan asked for the victim's account number, then used the SKYPE messaging service with a foreign prefix to send a message to the victim with the content that a foreign bank was informing that money was about to be transferred to the account. Tuan then sent an access link he created impersonating banks and impersonating the Western Union money transfer service.

Subject Nguyen Minh Tuan. Photo: Nhat Tuan

When the victim entered the account password on that access line, Tuan took over the account and withdrew all the money the victim had. In just a short time, Tuan had defrauded and appropriated more than 1 billion VND. Among the victims defrauded by Tuan was Ms. NTT in Boi Son commune (Do Luong, Nghe An) who was defrauded of 200 million VND.

Since the beginning of 2020, Nghe An Police have discovered, investigated, clarified, and arrested 81 cases, 248 subjects using high technology to gamble, defraud and appropriate property with the amount of money used for gambling up to thousands of billions of VND, the amount of money appropriated is more than 90 billion VND.

Strengthening the fight and prevention

It is forecasted that in the coming time, the situation of high-tech crimes will continue to develop complicatedly, causing great damage to people's property and affecting security and order. On May 19, 2021, the People's Committee of Nghe An province issued Directive No. 17/CT-UBND on strengthening solutions to prevent and combat high-tech crimes.

In which, the Directors of departments, heads of provincial-level departments, branches, and organizations, and Chairmen of People's Committees of districts, cities, and towns are required to direct the promotion of propaganda, dissemination of laws, and warnings about methods and tricks of high-tech criminals so that officials and people know, are vigilant, denounce criminals, and comply with legal regulations, and prevent the use of cyberspace for criminal activities and violations of the law. At the same time, proactively take measures to improve the security and safety of computer networks and data when connecting and accessing cyberspace.

Nghi Loc District Police tracked down criminals on the internet, cracking many major cases. Photo: Hoai Thu

The Provincial People's Committee also requested:Nghe An Provincial Police strengthen the work of grasping the situation, proactively detecting, fighting to clarify, and strictly handling violations of the law in cyberspace; launch attacks to suppress crimes using high technology, especially criminal networks and gangs using high technology to defraud and appropriate property, organize gambling and soccer betting in cyberspace on a large scale across provinces, with foreign elements.

Fake ATM cards were brought from China by criminals. Photo: Xuan Bac

The Department of Information and Communications shall coordinate with relevant agencies to strengthen inspection, examination, handling and supervision of websites and social network accounts of organizations and individuals that illegally mobilize capital, exchange money through intermediaries, advertise the purchase and sale of goods, purchase services, introduce, advertise and post information on websites, social networks, advertisements... integrated on postal, telecommunications and information technology services to prevent this crime from operating.

The Department of Industry and Trade strengthens management, supervision, and inspection of the content and operating conditions of organizations in the fields of e-commerce, multi-level marketing, and business models using digital technology, proactively prevents criminals from taking advantage of activities, promptly detects signs of law violations to take measures to handle or exchange and provide information to investigative agencies at all levels for investigation and handling.

The State Bank of Vietnam, Nghe An branch, directed credit institutions, credit institution branches, and commercial banks in the area to enhance security in online transactions and via bank cards; proactively prevent the installation of electronic devices into ATMs to collect customer information data, thereby counterfeiting ATM cards and appropriating customers' assets. At the same time, coordinate well with investigative agencies at all levels in investigating, verifying, handling crimes, and blocking related accounts when requested.

Nghe An Provincial Police held a ceremony to announce the Decision of the Minister of Public Security on the establishment of the Cyber ​​Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention Department (Department PA05). Photo: Binh Nguyen

The Provincial People's Committee also requested the People's Committees of districts, cities and towns, on the basis of Directive 17/CT-UBND, to develop plans and propose specific solutions suitable to local realities; direct departments, agencies, unions and commune-level authorities to comprehensively, resolutely and effectively implement solutions to prevent and combat high-tech crimes, ensuring the mobilization of the combined strength of the political system for this work.

However, in addition to the involvement of functional sectors and the entire political system, each citizen needs to raise their vigilance to avoid falling into the traps of fraud by high-tech users./.