Nearly lost billions of dong because they trusted a scammer over the phone.
In just a few days, two residents of Dai Dong commune (Nghe An province) were threatened with "drug charges," forced to withdraw all their savings, and cut off from their families. If the bank staff hadn't been vigilant and the commune police hadn't intervened in time, nearly 1 billion VND would have fallen into the hands of high-tech criminals.
Recently, online fraud has continued to evolve in complexity, particularly the tactic of impersonating law enforcement agencies to threaten and manipulate victims. In Dai Dong commune, Nghe An province, the police force has successfully detected and prevented two such incidents, promptly protecting the valuable assets of local residents.
On November 24th, the commune police received a report from a Viettel Store employee about an elderly couple who came to withdraw 80 million VND to "send to their daughter." Noticing unusual behavior in their conversation, the employee immediately notified the police.
Through their investigation, the commune police determined that the wife was assaulted by the suspect.impersonating insurance agentsThey called, informing her that her records were "incorrect," her personal information "leaked," and demanding that she withdraw all her savings deposited into a "secure account." Notably, the perpetrators instructed her to say "sending to my daughter" during the transaction to deceive the bank staff.
Previously, on November 5th, at the Agribank Thanh Chuong branch, Ms. P., residing in Dai Dong commune, withdrew nearly 1 billion VND to transfer to another account. Bank staff noticed something unusual about her anxious demeanor and immediately reported it to the commune police. When questioned, Ms. P. initially tried to conceal the reason, claiming she was "withdrawing money for her child to renovate their shop."
After being given an explanation, she finally admitted to repeatedly receiving calls from various unknown numbers. The callers, posing as police officers, informed her that she was "involved in a drug case" and demanded absolute confidentiality. They threatened that her personal information had been "sold for 200 million VND" and demanded that she withdraw all her savings and transfer them to an account opened at MSB according to "operational instructions." To control the victim, the callers also instructed Ms. P. to stay in a closed room, not contact anyone, and buy a new phone and SIM card to communicate only with them.
According to the Dai Dong Commune Police, this is a typical tactic of high-tech fraud: They obtain the victim's personal information in advance; create a scenario of threats, manipulation, and isolation; assign multiple individuals to call repeatedly to create pressure; instruct the victim not to contact their family; and finally, force them to withdraw all their deposited money and transfer it to an account controlled by the fraudsters. If the victim panics, all their accumulated assets can be lost in just a few calls.
The police affirm that law enforcement never conducts business over the phone, never asks people to transfer money, provide OTP codes, or access suspicious links. Any calls from individuals claiming to be from the police, prosecutor's office, or court requesting "verification," "security," or "account freezing" are fraudulent schemes.
The police advise citizens to absolutely refrain from sharing personal information online, not to follow any instructions from strangers, to remain calm when receiving suspicious calls, and to contact the local police directly for assistance. The two recent incidents serve as a clear warning that high-tech scams are plagging families, and a single moment of carelessness can cause a lifetime of savings to vanish.
