Vietnam police crack down on cross‑border bank account fraud, 40 arrested

Vietnamese police have intensified action against illegal banking fraud. In Khánh Hòa province, three suspects were charged with buying personal and business bank accounts and selling them to networks in Cambodia, profiting more than VND 423 million and prompting warnings that account holders can face transaction freezes and criminal charges.

Separately, authorities in Lai Châu province issued alerts about a new scheme that uses bank accounts bearing the same name as victims’ acquaintances to deceive them into rapid transfers. The police later raided a cross‑border operation based in Tonpheung, Bokeo province, Laos, arresting 40 Vietnamese suspects who ran a VNeID‑linked scam. The group targeted parents and students, using fake QR codes to hijack bank accounts and steal over VND 5 billion from more than 1,000 victims across Vietnam. The operation resulted in the seizure of dozens of phones, computers and related material, and highlighted the growing transnational nature of high‑tech financial crime.