Phu Tho woman prosecuted for 1.2 billion VND bank transfer fraud

Phu Tho provincial police have prosecuted 52-year-old Pham Thi Lay for fraud after she allegedly misappropriated over 1.2 billion VND from a local grocery and fruit shop owner.

Between August 2022 and November 2025, Lay reportedly used a deceptive method involving incorrect bank account details. She would intentionally enter a single wrong character when making transfers. While the banking system initially showed a successful transaction status, the error caused the funds to be automatically returned to her own account. Lay then sent screenshots of these seemingly successful transactions to the shop owner to gain trust.

The scheme was discovered after a transaction totaling over 6 million VND failed to appear in the victim's account. Upon reviewing previous records, the shop owner realized that Lay had performed 677 fraudulent transactions in total, amounting to 1,235,398,300 VND.