Nghe An police effectively combat high-tech crime.

Losing billions of dong after receiving a call from a "government official"

In late 2023, while commuting to work, Ms. Phan Thi Phu (53 years old, residing in Vinh City) received a call from an unknown number. The caller, claiming to be an official from the Ministry of Information and Communications, informed her that her phone number and bank account were linked to criminals using them for money laundering and other illegal activities. Out of fear and believing she had done nothing illegal, and trusting that the caller was a government official, Ms. Phu followed the instructions. Just over a day after following the instructions, nearly 1 billion VND was deducted from her account.

Ms. Phan Thi Phu recalled: “While I was working, I received a call from an unknown number claiming to be a government official investigating a case. They said my phone number was being used by someone else to launder money for human traffickers and drug traffickers. Then, claiming to be a police officer, they demanded that I prove the money in my account was legitimate by transferring all of it to their account.”

Not long ago, using the same method of receiving calls from unknown numbers claiming to be police officers requesting "cooperation in an investigation" related to a case, the accounts of two people, a man residing in Thai Hoa town and a woman residing in Hung Nguyen district, Nghe An province, also had nearly 800 million VND "vanished".

In Nghe An province, in 2023 alone, the police force discovered, arrested, and prosecuted dozens of cases involving hundreds of individuals using high technology to commit crimes. Most recently, the Criminal Police Department, in coordination with relevant units, arrested 50 Vietnamese citizens residing abroad who used high technology to impersonate judicial officials and defraud Vietnamese people in many localities nationwide, amounting to over 500 billion VND. The ringleaders were Phan Van Phuong (born in 1991), residing in Kim Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district, and Tang Quang Vinh (born in 1989), residing in Ward 11, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City.

The sophisticated tactics make it easy for people to fall into the trap.

Recent investigations have shown that high-tech crime is a "non-traditional" type of crime, operating across a wide area, without regard to borders or territories, and employing increasingly sophisticated methods. According to police assessments, combating traditional crime is already difficult. Combating "non-traditional" crime, particularly that exploiting high technology, is even more challenging, as perpetrators of this type of crime often possess advanced information technology knowledge and constantly change their methods of operation to commit crimes.

For example, in the recent operation to dismantle two high-tech crime gangs, starting in July 2023, through intelligence gathering, the Criminal Police Department (Nghe An Provincial Police) discovered that in Nghe An province, several individuals and groups with suspicious characteristics were working for overseas companies to defraud and misappropriate assets from Vietnamese citizens in many localities across the country.

The members of this criminal group, based in Cambodia, were organized into three lines: D1, D2, and D3. In line D1, the members posed as officials working in government agencies, calling people on a pre-prepared list to inform them that their SIM cards had been blocked or their bank accounts frozen because they were linked to fraudulent organizations or their accounts and phone numbers were being used by these organizations for criminal activities.

Once the victim is convinced by the scenario, perpetrators D1 will transfer the victim's call to D2 – who impersonate Captain A – an officer from the Police Department of the Ministry of Public Security (or another suitable unit). They will inform the victim that their personal documents are being used by criminals to commit crimes... (matching the content of D1's call), request cooperation in the investigation, and threaten to issue an arrest warrant or freeze the victim's accounts. When the victim becomes frightened, the perpetrators will demand that the victim disclose their current bank account and assets (savings accounts, cash, gold, foreign currency, vehicles, etc.) for verification by authorities. If the victim is not found to be assisting criminals, the assets will be returned.

After the victim provides information about their bank account, password, etc., this information is transferred to D3 (the masterminds and leaders of the ring). D3 instructs the victim to go to the bank to register for online banking services, read out login information and OTP codes to the perpetrators, thereby hijacking the victim's online banking account. Next, the D3 perpetrators instruct the victim to withdraw money from their savings account or borrow money to transfer into the bank account, then manipulate the money transfer from the victim's bank account to the perpetrators' bank accounts to steal the funds.

Throughout the entire process of contacting the victim, the perpetrators always requested that the victim be in a private, secluded space, not tell anyone else about the incident, and maintain frequent contact to easily manipulate the victim's psychology...

Cybercriminals often devise very specific scenarios with clear task assignments. They frequently make phone calls impersonating telecommunications officials, court officials, or police officers to manipulate, coerce, and deceive people. In particular, once they gain access to accounts and personal information, they quickly withdraw money from victims' accounts.

Lieutenant Colonel Tran Duc Than - Head of the Criminal Police Department (Nghe An Provincial Police)

Implementing various effective countermeasures.

Recognizing the complex, dangerous, and "new" nature of this type of crime, the Cyber ​​Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention Department and the Criminal Police Department, playing a leading role, have recently coordinated with police units and localities to simultaneously implement many specific and innovative solutions.

To effectively combat high-tech crime, the Cyber ​​Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention Department has recently focused on improving the skills of its officers and soldiers to master specialized equipment and software; regularly enhancing their knowledge of the law; and fostering creativity and the application of science and technology in police work. They have also intensified propaganda efforts to raise public awareness of new methods and tactics used by high-tech criminals, especially online fraud.

Lieutenant Colonel Le Dinh Ha - Deputy Head of the Cyber ​​Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention Department (Nghe An Provincial Police)

At a recent working session with the Cyber ​​Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention Department, Major General Bui Quang Thanh, Director of the Provincial Police, also requested the unit to continue advising and effectively implementing major policies and guidelines of the Party, Government, and Ministry of Public Security on ensuring cybersecurity. He also urged them to disseminate information and warn the public about criminal methods and tactics to raise awareness, promote compliance with the law, and encourage active participation in crime prevention, contributing to the successful implementation of the "All People Protect National Security" movement.

Proactively carry out preventive measures, monitor the situation, detect and promptly handle incidents related to security and order in cyberspace. Send officers and soldiers to participate in advanced training courses in cybersecurity and information security at quality training institutions, thereby fulfilling assigned tasks and responsibilities.

Van Hau - Ho Hung