Phu Tho police prosecute woman for 1.23 billion VND bank transfer fraud

Phu Tho Provincial Police have prosecuted Phung Thi Lay, born in 1974, for the crime of ‘fraudulent appropriation of property’. Lay is accused of defrauding a grocery and fruit store owner of more than 1.23 billion VND through a repetitive scheme involving 677 deceptive bank transfers.

Between August 2022 and November 2025, Lay frequently purchased goods from the victim, a resident of Binh Xuyen, Phu Tho. Because the victim was a regular customer, Lay was permitted to pay for goods at a later time. To confirm payments, Lay would send screenshots of successful transaction messages to the store owner.

Investigations revealed that Lay intentionally entered incorrect characters in the recipient's account number. While the transaction initially appeared successful on the screen, the incorrect information caused the bank to automatically return the funds to Lay's account. Lay then used these deceptive transaction images to convince the merchant that the debt had been settled.