Vietnam residents face exit bans due to identity theft

Several individuals in Vietnam have reported being victims of identity theft, where their personal information was used to establish fraudulent businesses. These victims often discover their involvement only when attempting to travel abroad or through tax monitoring applications.

One victim, a homemaker from Khanh Hoa, discovered she was the registered director of two companies in Ho Chi Minh City after being denied exit at the airport due to unpaid corporate taxes. Another resident in Tay Ninh faced an exit ban after being impersonated to set up a business that failed to operate at its registered address.

In another instance, a resident of Ho Chi Minh City found that his national ID had been stolen to open a company, leaving him responsible for nearly 3 billion VND in tax debt. Victims have described the process of clearing these fraudulent debts and restoring their legal status as an exhausting and costly struggle involving multiple government agencies.