The sophisticated tactics of the scammer defrauded over 3,000 people nationwide.
By creating a series of fake websites offering services like renting virtual SIM cards and exchanging scratch cards, with interfaces that closely resembled real ones, Ha Cong Tai ran advertisements to defraud more than 3,000 people nationwide.
On the afternoon of June 24th, the Criminal Police Department of Da Nang City Police announced that they had served the decisions.initiate legal proceedings.The suspect, Ha Cong Tai (30 years old, residing in Xuan Tho commune, Xuan Loc district, Dong Nai province), has been charged and temporarily detained for investigation into the act of using computer networks, telecommunication networks, and electronic means to misappropriate property.
According to the initial investigation, due to needing money for personal expenses, Tài went online to research scams involving electronic payments, then purchased fake website source code with interfaces and content similar to legitimate service sites such as those providing SMS OTP, exchanging phone scratch card codes, renting virtual SIM cards, etc.
After acquiring the source code, Tài modified the content to suit his fraudulent purposes, then purchased domain names and rented servers from reputable providers to launch and operate these websites.
The websites set up by Tài had realistic interfaces, easily confusing them with legitimate service providers. To increase reach, he created numerous social media accounts and chat groups on Facebook and Telegram to post advertisements for services such as: renting SIM cards to receive codes, renting virtual phone numbers to receive OTP codes, exchanging scratch cards for cash, etc.
In addition, Tài also bought Google Ads accounts to run ads on fake websites, aiming to push them to the top of search results and build user trust.
When victims access the website and want to use the service, the system will ask them to pay via bank transfer or top-up card, with a minimum transaction amount of 100,000 VND. Immediately after the user transfers the money, the perpetrators steal it and use it for personal purposes, without providing any of the advertised services.
Using this method, from the beginning of 2024 until now, Tai has defrauded 3,042 victims nationwide, totaling nearly 640 million VND.
