[CLSTR]
< Back to situations

Monitor this situation.

[SITUATION] · [QUIET] · [CRIME]

11 clusters · 15 sources · 46 days · First seen · Last updated

Criminal activity and fraud in Vietnam

Overview

Vietnam is experiencing a rise in diverse criminal activities, including physical burglaries and sophisticated digital fraud. In Thanh Hoa province, authorities arrested Nguyen Quy Son, a professional burglar who targeted isolated homes and stole gold valued at approximately 178 million VND.

Cybercrime remains a significant concern. Prosecutors are pursuing a group of eight individuals, including Luu Sinh Dien, for a large-scale scam operating from Cambodia that impersonated Shopee employees. This operation was reportedly managed by a Chinese criminal organization. Additionally, scammers are impersonating local officials, police, or land management staff to trick citizens into providing personal data or OTP codes under the pretext of updating electronic identification (VNeID) or settling land taxes.

Hanoi police have highlighted a surge in cryptocurrency and Forex investment scams. Criminals utilize fake tokens, fraudulent websites, and the likeness of influencers to promise ‘high, stable, and risk-free returns’. Some schemes involve fake exchanges using automated bots to manipulate market liquidity. In Bac Ninh province, authorities prosecuted individuals for accessing Binance accounts through deceptive USDT transactions and malicious QR codes.

New tactics include ‘short-film’ application scams in Thanh Hoa, where users are lured by promises of earning money by watching videos, only to be coerced into paying VIP fees or downloading malware-infected APK files. To combat these professionalized crimes, Hanoi police have held conferences to improve cyber defense and conducted legal awareness sessions for students, advising them to follow a ‘3 No’ principle regarding drugs, gambling, and lending bank accounts.

Entities

Hanoi Police · Thanh Hóa Provincial Police · Nguyen Quy Son · BDOGE · Me Linh

Timeline

  1. [CRIME] 2 sources
    Thanh Hoa Police warn of movie-watching scams targeting bank accounts

    Thanh Hoa police warn of scams using fake movie-watching apps to trick users into downloading malware and losing bank funds.

  2. [CRIME] 3 sources
    Hanoi police rescue student from Zalo account hijacking scam

    Hanoi police rescued a student after scammers hijacked his Zalo account and demanded a 100 million VND ransom from his family using psychological manipulation and impersonation tactics.

  3. [CRIME] 2 sources
    Hanoi police rescue student from online kidnapping scam

    Hanoi police rescued a university student from an “online kidnapping” scam where impersonators used threats of money laundering charges to extort 300 million VND.

  4. [CRIME] 2 sources
    Hanoi Police warn of Procuracy impersonation scam

    Hanoi Police warned of a Facebook page impersonating the Procuracy using ‘Warning-as-Bait’ tactics to scam previous fraud victims through fake legal assistance and malicious apps.

  5. [CRIME] 4 sources
    Hanoi Police warn of BDOGE cryptocurrency investment scam

    Hanoi Police are investigating a cryptocurrency scam where fraudsters inflated the price of the worthless BDOGE token by 10,000 times to deceive investors through false promises of international exchange's.

  6. [BUSINESS] 2 sources
    Hanoi Police warn of rising e-commerce scams

    Hanoi Police warn online shoppers of scams involving impersonation of e-commerce brands and fake recruitment schemes designed to steal money and personal information.

  7. [CRIME] 5 sources
    Hanoi Police warn of new online shopping refund scam

    Hanoi police warn of a new scam where criminals impersonate retailers to claim products must be recalled for refunds, using stolen transaction data to trick victims into revealing bank details.

  8. [CRIME] 3 sources
    Vietnam authorities warn of cryptocurrency and Forex investment scams

    Vietnamese authorities warn of rising cryptocurrency and Forex scams where criminals use fake platforms and social media experts to lure investors into fraudulent schemes before seizing their funds.

  9. [CRIME] 3 sources
    Hanoi police target rising cybercrime and student safety

    Hanoi police are addressing the rise of professionalized cybercrime and conducting safety awareness campaigns for students to prevent involvement in online fraud, drug use, and illegal digital activities.

  10. [CRIME] 4 sources
    Hanoi Police warn of rising cryptocurrency investment scams

    Hanoi Police warn of rising cryptocurrency scams in Vietnam, involving fake investment platforms, market manipulation, and malicious QR codes used to steal digital assets.

  11. [CRIME] 6 sources
    Vietnam authorities combat rising burglaries and digital fraud

    Vietnam authorities report a surge in criminal activities, including professional burglaries in Thanh Hoa and sophisticated digital scams involving Shopee impersonation and fraudulent government identity checks

Sources

afamily.vn · anninhthudo.vn · cafebiz.vn · cafef.vn · congnghevadoisong.vn · doanhnghiephoinhap.vn · gamek.vn · giadinh.suckhoedoisong.vn · kenh14.vn · kienthuc.net.vn · nhandan.vn · soha.vn · thanhnien.vn · tienphong.vn · vtv.vn

This summary has been updated 10 times: see revision history