P.T.T., a resident of Hai Phong, attempted to book a vacation stay for her family through a Facebook page claiming to belong to a Ninh Binh resort. However, the page was fake, and scammers used sophisticated tactics to swindle her out of more than $40,000.

Reporting the scam and warning others

On the evening of February 6, P.T.T. (born in 1988, residing in Hai An District, Hai Phong) spoke to VietNamNet, confirming that she had fallen victim to an elaborate scam, losing over 1 billion VND (approximately $40,500).

“After realizing what had happened, I immediately went to the Hai Phong City Police headquarters to file a report. Investigators took my statement and collected related evidence,” T. said.

Upon returning home, she contacted Dr. Nguyen Tien Phuc, a well-known figure in the local online community, to help spread awareness about the scam.

"I asked Dr. Phuc to share my story online to warn others. Through my experience, I hope people can recognize these scams and avoid losing money," she added.

A fake Facebook page, professional deception

T. recounted that as her family planned a trip for the Lunar New Year holiday, she searched online and found a Facebook page with a verified blue checkmark under the name Minawa Kenh Ga Resort & Spa Ninh Binh.

She messaged the page and received a prompt and detailed response from what she believed to be a resort representative. The urgency of securing a room, combined with the staff's professionalism, convinced her to make a reservation.

On the evening of January 25, she transferred a deposit of VND 6.5 million ($260) to reserve two rooms.

Shortly after, the scammer claimed that she had entered incorrect transfer details and asked her to resend the payment using the exact format required.

Once the transfer was confirmed, the scammer initiated a video call to gain her trust and guided her through a series of steps to "recover" the supposedly misplaced funds.

Manipulation turns authentication codes into stolen money

The fraudster instructed T. to access her banking app and activate VNPay, a digital payment service. However, when she mentioned that her bank did not offer this feature, the scammer told her to use another money transfer tool to "activate" VNPay.

The scammer then provided a series of authentication codes and instructed her to enter them in the field where the transfer amount should be specified. She was told to write "activate VNPay" in the transaction description.

In reality, these so-called “authentication codes” were amounts of money, and T. was unknowingly transferring her own funds to the scammer.

Using tactics such as claiming that "the money is on hold" or "your transaction was incorrect", the scammer pressured her into repeatedly re-entering different codes. In a short period, she unknowingly transferred over VND 1 billion ($40,500).

"The scammers had an extremely well-planned operation, down to the smallest details. They kept me engaged and pressured me to act quickly, leaving me no time to think," T. recalled.

During the video call, she noticed what appeared to be a large office with a noisy background, reinforcing her belief that she was dealing with a legitimate customer service team. Furthermore, the money she transferred went into a company bank account rather than an individual’s account, making the operation seem even more credible.

It wasn’t until her bank account was completely emptied that she realized something was wrong. When she asked to speak to a manager, the scammer immediately cut off contact after nearly two hours of transactions.

T. then searched for the official contact details of Minawa Kenh Ga Resort and called them directly.

"When I reached them, they confirmed that the Facebook page I had interacted with was fake. They also said their resort was already fully booked a month in advance and that they had no connection to the company whose account I had transferred money to," T. said.

Psychological manipulation: The art of deception

T. emphasized that the scammers never hacked her banking account. Instead, they used psychological manipulation to gain control over her decision-making.

"They exploited trust and urgency to make me feel like I was retrieving my own money. It was as if I had been hypnotized into following their every instruction," she admitted.

The Ninh Binh Department of Tourism has acknowledged the incident.

Following the report, the department assigned a task force to work with Minawa Kenh Ga Resort in Gia Vien District to address the issue and educate tourists about online scams.

Hoai Anh