Busting a gang of fake fruit sellers in Korea that swindled over tens of billions of dong
Police have just discovered and stopped a group of people impersonating Facebook accounts to sell fruit in Korea, hacking into more than 70 accounts to defraud and appropriate more than 10 billion VND from victims.
On August 10, the Office of the Criminal Police Department of Da Nang City Police informed: It has just detained 5 subjects: Vo Van Nhat Quang (born in 1999), Vo Nguyen Hoang Thong (born in 1998), Vo Van Tuong (born in 1998), Vo Hoang Viet Hung (born in 1991) and Vo Van Quang (born in 2003, all residing in Quang Tri province) to investigate the act of "illegally accessing other people's computer networks, telecommunications networks or electronic devices" and "fraud and appropriation of property”.
According to initial investigation, this group of subjects impersonated reputable fruit selling Facebook accounts in Korea to make friends and collect customers' phone numbers. Then, they used these phone numbers to register WhatsApp accounts, tricked victims into providing OTP codes, and then took access to Facebook through the "forgot password" feature.
Once they have taken control of the account, the subjects impersonate the account owner and text the victim's relatives and friends, fabricating reasons for needing to borrow or transfer money urgently, and apply many sophisticated tricks to appropriate property.
From December 2024 until their arrest, the group had illegally hacked into more than 70 Facebook accounts, appropriating over 10 billion VND from many victims at home and abroad.
Da Nang City Police advise people to be vigilant against fake accounts, and never provide phone numbers, OTP codes or personal information to strangers. When receiving a request to transfer money from an acquaintance via social networks, it is necessary to verify by calling directly or meeting in person to avoid being taken advantage of by scammers.
