Vietnam police warn of cross‑border bank‑account fraud, fines up to VND200 million

The Lao Cai provincial police have issued a warning that buying, selling, renting or otherwise transferring the use of Vietnamese bank accounts is illegal and can be punished with fines of up to 200 million dong. Criminal groups operating across the Vietnam‑Cambodia border lure job‑seekers with promises of “light work” and high wages abroad, then require them to open Vietnamese bank accounts and hand over usage rights. The victims’ personal and biometric data are used for fraud, money‑laundering and other illegal activities.

After the accounts are flagged and temporarily locked by banks, the perpetrators send the victims back to Vietnam to unlock the accounts, then repeat the cycle. Some victims are taken to Cambodia, where their documents are confiscated and communication restricted. The police also identified a second method: fraudsters exploit staff or collaborators of financial institutions to harvest customer data. The warning aims to curb these cross‑border schemes and protect citizens from becoming unwitting participants in high‑tech crime networks.