Vietnam's Ministry of Public Security said on 4 November that 94 people have now been detained in a transnational online fraud case in Thanh Hoa province, up by five since the previous update, VnExpress reports, and Thanh Nien carries the same count. Major General Nguyen Quoc Toan, chief of the ministry's office, gave the figures at the regular government press briefing.
Of those detained, 90 are foreign nationals and four are Vietnamese. The case involves 113 foreigners who allegedly came to Vietnam to run the scheme, and investigators are still gathering evidence on those not yet detained. The charges include using computer and telecommunications networks to appropriate property, and organising or brokering illegal exit, entry or stay.
Toan said the operation was broken up by the ministry and Thanh Hoa police in late October. According to the investigation as he described it, the group operated from a rented hotel from June, using SIM cards not registered to them to open social media accounts and approach people in Japan, China, Taiwan, the United States, India and South Korea. Investigators say they posed as successful businesspeople or attractive singles, built online relationships and then steered victims to fake investment platforms.
Toan said the ministry respects and protects the lawful rights of foreigners in Vietnam but will not let anyone use the country as a base for crime. He urged the public to be careful on social media, to verify any investment offer promising unusually high returns before sending money, and not to lend or sell accounts or personal information to others. The people detained have not been tried, and the briefing did not say when the case would go to court.
Sources
- Bộ Công an: Bảo vệ người nước ngoài, nhưng không dung túng hành vi phạm tội
- Bộ Công an thông tin về đường dây tội phạm xuyên quốc gia tại Thanh Hóa
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