Police in Da Nang say they have detained 13 foreign nationals suspected of running an online fraud operation from a rented villa, Viet Nam News reported on 5 November. Police announced the case on 4 November. The suspects are two Chinese and 11 Indonesian nationals, and none has been convicted.

The villa is in the Regal Victoria urban area. According to the report, the tip came from Dien Ban Dong Ward police. Bao Da Nang also reported the case, including the alleged passport seizure.

Police allege the group ran romance scams and fake online shopping tasks aimed at Indonesian victims through WhatsApp and Telegram. Some members allegedly posed as women, and victims were allegedly pushed to deposit larger sums and then blocked from withdrawing them.

Officers reportedly found 12 desktop computers and 87 mobile phones. Investigators estimated the initial setup cost at about US$60,000.

Police named a Chinese man born in 1993 as the alleged ringleader, saying he entered Vietnam from China in late August 2026. They allege he recruited 11 Indonesians, took their passports and housed them at the villa. Pay was reportedly a US$700 monthly salary plus a US$200 attendance bonus, with fines of US$400 to US$1,000 for missed targets.

Police also allege that money from victims moved through Indonesian bank accounts handled in two Telegram groups, and was converted to the cryptocurrency USDT and sent to a wallet the ringleader controlled. The report did not give victim numbers, total losses or formal charges.

The Criminal Police Division is continuing the investigation. Danang Voice could not reach the suspects for comment; the allegations are those of police.

Sources

This story was compiled by the Da Nang Voice news desk from the published sources listed above. Facts, figures and quotes are attributed to those sources; Da Nang Voice did not conduct interviews for it unless the text says so. Corrections are dated and noted at the top of the story. Read our corrections policy. Spotted an error? Tell us.