Fraud is recurring in mountainous areas.

(Baonghean) - Despite numerous warnings, people in the highland communes are still being deceived by the sophisticated scams, losing large sums of money and gold. By the time they realize what has happened, the money is gone and they don't know who to turn to for help.

Welcoming us into her small house, Ms. Lang Thi Thanh in Cu village, Chieu Luu commune (Ky Son district) was still in shock. Despite being a long-time primary school teacher, she never imagined she would be so easily deceived. She recounted: On the evening of June 17th, while she was busy doing housework, a white four-seater car pulled up right in front of her door. Three men with a slightly Northern accent got out. One of them, a tall, dark-skinned man in his 40s wearing a white shirt, approached her and started talking. After some back and forth, she learned that they were looking for a location to install an advertising sign for their solar-powered frying pans. They told her they would pay 1 million dong per month for renting the space. Seeing that they had a car and were well-dressed, Ms. Thanh thought they were from a legitimate company. In the mountainous region, finding a business opportunity is not easy, and these people told her that only 9 places along Route 7 were allowed to place billboards. To further convince her, they set a trap by having Ms. Thanh speak with the company's "director" on the phone. During the brief conversation, the anonymous "director" told Ms. Thanh that she was "lucky" because there was only one spot left to place the company's advertising billboard.

Ms. Lang Thi Thanh next to a fan worth nearly 3 million VND.

Thinking that good fortune had truly arrived, Ms. Thanh invited the "distinguished guest" inside for a drink. It was the same man who had been the first to enter. He introduced himself as Trang and stated that the rent would be paid upfront at 6 million VND, with subsequent payments made monthly. To gain Ms. Thanh's trust, the man promised to give her three products and initially offered two: an ELENBERG air conditioner and a KAILEDA bladeless fan, both with warranty cards. The warranty card stated: VCEL Manufacturing Co., Ltd., located at 40/1, Street 18, Group 24, KP II-P, Thanh My Loi Ward, District 2, Ho Chi Minh City. Telephone: 0838.925.961, Mobile: 0123.552.8555. Name of the person delivering: Dao Manh Trang, 170 Quang Trung Street, City. Vinh, phone number: 0914.420.577. All products were clearly priced: a heater fan cost 9,800,000 VND, and a bladeless fan cost 2,900,000 VND. The person named Trang said that because the remaining product, a bulky frying pan, could only be delivered the next day. The group also asked Ms. Thanh to cook four meals for the people installing the sign the next day. Trang asked her to give him 4,990,000 VND upfront to receive the remaining product the next day. After receiving the money from Ms. Thanh, all three individuals sped away in their vehicle. Because it was getting dark, no one noticed the license plate of the three individuals' car. After waiting a long time without seeing the "company people" arrive to install the sign, Ms. Thanh became suspicious and tried calling Trang's number, but couldn't reach him.

Bladeless fan.

Warranty registration form.

To verify the information provided in the warranty certificate, we directly called 0914.420.577 and spoke to someone who identified himself as Ngo Van Tuan from VCEL Production Co., Ltd., not Dao Van Trang as stated on the certificate. However, when we arranged a meeting for consultation and to purchase bladeless fans, he said he would come a few days later. But when we called again, he hung up. Further investigation of the address listed on the warranty certificate – “170 Quang Trung Street – revealed that this address did not exist. In reality, the market prices of similar products were significantly lower than the price Ms. Lang Thi Thanh paid to these individuals. To find out more information, we went to Google and typed the phrase "ELENBERG WH 11-20 air conditioner" and found information about "ELENBERG WH 11-20 wall-mounted heater" priced at 870,000 VND; and KAILEDA bladeless fan priced at 799,000 VND.

Previously, in My Ly commune (Ky Son district), Mr. Kha Van Phong in Xop Tu village was also tricked out of 5 million VND by the same individuals who broke into his house. To gain Mr. Phong's trust, the three perpetrators left him a Watashi gas stove and five pots, and also asked his family to cook four meals for them. Immediately after realizing he had been scammed, he filed a report with the Ky Son District Police, but so far there have been no results.

The product the scammer left behind.

Most recently, on the afternoon of July 3rd, using the same tactic, they tricked the family of Mr. Vi Van Tuan in Hoa Ly village (My Ly commune), stealing 4 taels of gold. Mr. Kha Ngoc Minh, Chairman of the People's Committee of My Ly commune, said that the commune police are currently coordinating with the My Ly Border Guard Post to intensify investigations and apprehend these individuals. It is highly likely they will return to mountainous areas to exploit the gullibility of the people and commit fraud.

Previously, Nghe An Newspaper also reported on the fraudulent activities using similar tactics in Con Cuong district. However, after nearly three months, this situation continues to occur in the remote and mountainous communes. Regarding the aforementioned fraud, we contacted the Ky Son District Police. Mr. Nguyen Van De, the District Police Chief, stated that despite public awareness campaigns, the large geographical area and the sophisticated methods employed by the fraudsters have resulted in continued occurrences. He acknowledged his responsibility for this situation and has instructed police officers to strengthen coordination with relevant agencies and the public to implement measures to combat these fraudsters.

D.T- HP