Scammer on Facebook

A man from Binh Phuoc reported to the police that he was cheated out of VND1 billion. The scammer was an acquaintance he made friends with on a social network. The "friend" is the owner of a Facebook account named Yadni Bentos, who said he was working for the US government and was in a mission in Syria.

The scammer said his father was Vietnamese and has inherited $600,000 from the father who passed away. Yadni Bentos suggested an investment cooperation to make profits to share between them. He said that he would send the amount of money ($600,000) to the man in Binh Phuoc, so the man could invest in Vietnam for profit.

After receiving images of money and a certificate confirming the cargo to Vietnam from the ‘friend’, the victim received a call requesting him to pay a fee to get customs clearance, and he transferred VND1 billion to an account as requested. The victim never received the money.

AIS has advised people to be cautious when making acquaintance with anyone on social networks. It is necessary to clarify the identity of people or subjects who want to make friends; do not share personal information about bank accounts; and do not access strange URLs or download apps with unclear origin. 

If people discover that they have been scammed, they need to stop remitting money and immediately contact banks and financial institutions to report scams and request the institutions to stop transactions.

Policeman

Scammers pretending to be a policeman, calling people and swindling them out of money, is not a new trick, but many people have fallen into the trap, according to AIS. 

Hanoi Police are investigating a case in which a resident in Hoan Kiem district received a call from a man claiming to be a police officer. The subject said the victim got involved in a drug trafficking and money laundering ring, and requested the victim to provide information about his bank account to prove that he was innocent. The victim then transferred VND1.1 billion into some accounts as requested.

AIS said people need to be wary of anyone who introduces himself as a policeman. “If the police want to meet people to serve an investigation, they will send written documents to summon citizens. They won’t call citizens via phone and they won’t ask to provide information about bank accounts."

Car-driving teacher

Impersonating a car driving teacher, a young man on a social network said that he could teach people to drive cars and help them obtain driving licenses. To date, he has appropriated hundreds of millions of dong from many victims by promising to provide the service.

The scammer had a Facebook account registered with the name Manh Hung. Many victims contacted Hung and transferred money, so that Hung helped prepare dossiers to apply for an exam for driving licenses.

The police have found 15 victims in Nghe An and 10 others in Thanh Hoa, Ha Tinh, Gia Lai and Binh Phuoc, who were appropriated VND300 million.

AIS said people need to be skeptical when using services provided via social network. It is necessary to identify subjects first by requesting them to provide necessary information before taking next action. If people discover abnormal things, they need to report to the police.

Fake fanpage

Recently, a fanpage named ‘thu vien phap luat’ (library of law), or ‘tu van phap luat truc tuyen’ (online legal consultancy), impersonating VTV Online (an e-newspaper), published an article with wrong information: High-tech Crime Prevention Department A05. Hotline: 0948 304 750’.

After receiving reports from people, investigators found that the fanpage was set up to swindle people out of money. The scammer introduced himself as a policeman of A05 Agency so that he could easily cheat victims.

2 scams in China, US

A Chinese student fell into a trap set by a scammer after reading an ad about a cheap iPhone. The scammer said he wanted to sell a nearly brandnew iPhone at just 1,500 yuan (VND5 million). However, after the student remitted money, the scammer unfriended the victim on WeChat and disappeared.

An American man lost $60 million when he was swindled by a woman, who created a relationship with the victim via Linkedln and persuaded him to make an investment in a profitable project.

Van Anh