Many people in Nghe An were scammed because of buying Japanese and Korean domestic electronics on Facebook.

Dong Da District Police (Hanoi) has just announced that it has concluded the investigation into the case of Nguyen Xuan Tinh (born 1990), residing in Cong Hoa, Gia Luong, Gia Loc, Hai Duong, using social networks to defraud and appropriate property.

Previously, in early January 2019, the Dong Da District Police Department received a report from Mr. PCT (born in 1983), residing in Hai Ba Trung District, Hanoi, about being scammed by a subject on Facebook since April 2018.

The incident originated from the fact that on April 22, 2018, Mr. T. went to the "Japanese domestic goods" page on Facebook to find a used refrigerator and saw an account named "Quang Anh" selling a very nice refrigerator. After Mr. T. called the owner's phone number, he was quoted 25 million VND, then the two sides agreed to 20 million VND. The subject asked Mr. T. to deposit 4.8 million VND in advance into a bank account under the name of Nguyen Xuan Tinh before shipping the "goods".

Trusting, Mr. T. followed, but when the money transfer was successful, the Facebook "Quang Anh" immediately blocked contact with Mr. T.'s Facebook. The phone number was also blocked and could not be called... Knowing that he had been scammed, but because he was busy with work, it was not until 8 months later that Mr. T. wrote a report to the police. During the investigation, the Criminal Police Team of Dong Da District Police used many professional measures to find clues about the person named Nguyen Xuan Tinh, and at the same time summoned the subject for questioning.

On January 8, 2019, Tinh appeared at the Dong Da District Police Headquarters to work and admitted his actions. The subject's method was to download images of sparkling electronic and refrigeration products from the internet and then post them for sale on social networks Facebook and Zalo in order to appropriate the deposits of customers. That is, he advertised "virtual" goods, but in fact Tinh did not have any items to sell.

During the investigation, Nguyen Xuan Tinh also committed many other frauds to appropriate property from many other people from before until September 2018. If the police had not discovered and stopped him, it is very likely that many other people would have fallen into his trap.

For example, on March 26, 2018, also with the account "Quang Anh", Tinh posted an advertisement to sell a batch of air conditioners on the page "Japanese-Korean Used Goods" and was ordered by Mr. HTL (born in 1982), residing in Thanh Chuong, Nghe An, to buy 2 batches of air conditioners including Daikin, Panasonic, Fujitsu with a total of 400 units. Seeing that the "fish bit the bait" with the huge batch, Tinh boldly quoted a price of 300 million VND, asking Mr. L. to transfer a deposit of 30 million VND in advance. Between March 27, 2018 and April 3, 2018, the victim transferred the full amount of 30 million VND to Tinh. After receiving the money, the subject immediately blocked contact with Mr. L.'s Facebook.

Using the same method as above, on May 12, 2018, Tinh defrauded and appropriated 2 million VND as a "deposit" to buy a washing machine from Mr. HDT (born in 1992), residing in Yen My, Hung Yen; on May 15, 2018, he defrauded 2 million VND as a "deposit" to buy a washing machine from Mr. NVT (born in 1985), residing in Gia Lam, Hanoi. After each successful defraud, Nguyen Xuan Tinh changed his Facebook and Zalo names to avoid being detected and tracked.

The subject also converted a variety of items from washing machines to refrigerators, air conditioners... He even asked a friend named D. in Quy Nhon to lend him his account number to receive the scam money. On June 15, 2018, Tinh tricked Mr. NAN (born in 1972), residing in Thanh Tri, Hanoi, to buy a refrigerator for 10 million VND, transferring money to Mr. D's account. Then, on June 19, 2018, the subject tricked Mr. TVT (born in 1976), residing in Ninh Giang, Hai Duong, transferring 10 million VND in advance to deposit to buy a refrigerator and air conditioner through Mr. D's account.

It is known that Nguyen Xuan Tinh has no criminal record, no wife or children, and lives as a vagrant. Every time he swindled money, he withdrew it for personal use and entertainment. In September 2018, when he ran out of money, he went back to social media to "fish". On September 26 and 27, he repeatedly tricked VNT (born in 1983), residing in Tam Nong, Phu Tho, and NCD (born in 1969), residing in Ha Long, Quang Ninh, into transferring money to buy a refrigerator, appropriating 9.5 million VND.

In particular, on September 29, 2018, Mr. D.CT (born in 1972), residing in Ha Dong, Hanoi, was scammed by Tinh when he ordered a shipment of household appliances including 7 refrigerators, 3 washing machines, 5 rice cookers, 3 induction cookers worth 112 million VND, with 2 dishwashers included. Thinking that he had bought a bargain and had a promotion, Mr. T. immediately transferred 24 million VND to Tinh as a deposit. Unexpectedly, when the money in his account was deducted, Mr. T. also lost contact with the owner of the shipment...

An investigator said that Tinh's fraudulent behavior was not new, but because he had worked as a sailor on an ocean-going ship, he was quite knowledgeable about customs procedures, entering ports, and delivering goods from ships to ports... so when talking to victims, he was easy to convince.

Although Tinh himself had no profession, he was previously a student at the Maritime University and was quite knowledgeable about information technology, so the photos downloaded from the internet were carefully selected and edited, and there were even photos of customs officers checking goods... thereby creating trust, causing many victims to fall into the trap.

In addition, people who order Tinh's products often have a cheap and trusting mentality. Some people buy to use, but some also buy in bulk to resell for profit, so when they see a cheap price, they easily fall into the trap of "deposit, transfer money immediately".

Dong Da District Police Department recommends that people be careful when buying goods online, especially when they do not know the real owner of the goods, they should make an appointment to see the goods before paying a deposit, to avoid being scammed like the cases above.