Vietnam Police Pursue Suspect in Massive 8.4 Billion Email Sale Scheme

On 16 July, police in Hanoi’s Ha Đông district worked with a gold‑shop employee who noticed an 18‑year‑old student attempting to sell 24 gold bars, three gold rings, a necklace and about 89.5 million VND in cash. The student had been lured by callers pretending to be police officers and was about to transfer nearly 700 million VND to the fraudsters. Authorities intervened, recovered the assets and warned the public about phone scams that impersonate law‑enforcement officials.

Separately, the Crime Investigation Police of Tuyên Quang province announced an ongoing probe into a criminal network that illicitly bought, sold and exchanged more than 8.4 billion stolen email accounts between 2024 and 2025. The group used Telegram to trade login credentials worldwide, earning hundreds of millions of VND. Investigators have identified Lê Văn Đông, a 25‑year‑old resident of Hanoi, as a suspect and are seeking his whereabouts. Three other suspects have already been charged. Police urge citizens to protect personal data and avoid sharing sensitive information online.