Impersonating epidemic prevention staff to scam people in Tu Ky town

Specifically, at around 9:00 a.m. on March 6, Ms. Nguyen Thi Quyen was home alone when a strange woman about 35-40 years old came into the house and asked to talk.

A strange woman claiming to be an epidemic prevention officer sent by her superiors informed Ms. Quyen’s family that on the afternoon of March 7, a team would come to her family to spray disinfectant to prevent Covid-19, diphtheria, and influenza A at the request of her daughter. This person spread the news that the Covid-19 epidemic was currently breaking out again in India and was about to come to Vietnam.

The strange woman told Ms. Quyen that she had worked with the health station and the head of the area before going downstairs. She also took out her phone and called someone to exchange information related to the spraying of pesticides. After ending the call, the woman turned to Ms. Quyen and told her that she had just called her daughter to finalize the plan to pay for the spraying of pesticides for 3 consecutive years, 150,000 VND per year.

Ms. Quyen has not verified the information, but when she heard the strange woman correctly read her daughter's name, the head of the area, the head of the Tu Ky town health station, she agreed to pay 450,000 VND on behalf of her daughter.

At noon that same day, feeling suspicious, Ms. Quyen went to the town's Health Station to ask for information about the disinfection spraying and was told that there was no plan and no one had contacted her about it. Her daughter also confirmed over the phone that she had not asked anyone to come to her house to spray disinfectant to prevent the epidemic.

People need to be vigilant against the above scams to avoid losing money unjustly like Ms. Quyen. We request the police to verify, investigate and strictly handle the scammers.