Online worship scam to get gambling money

Many people fall into the trap

Tung is a freelance worker who is divorced from his wife and has two small children. Due to difficult circumstances, Tung did not strive to earn a living to support his children, but instead took advantage of the trust and desperate situation of his victims to commit fraud.

In just the first few months of 2023, many people have fallen into the trap of Tung's online worship service. In February 2023, Tung saw Ms. LTM in Sao Do ward (Chi Linh) posting in the Facebook group "I Ching hexagram analysis". Ms. M. asked about the health of her child who had been sick since 2012 and had been treated in many places but could not be cured. Tung commented that he could pray to cure his child. Ms. M. thought it was real, so she transferred a total of 86 million VND to Tung 66 times.

On February 4, 2023, Tung saw Ms. D.TTH in Tran Hung Dao Ward (Hai Duong City) post in the Facebook group "Kinh Dich Hoi" asking about her child drowning and the body had not been found. Tung immediately texted Ms. H. saying that he could hold a ceremony to find the body of Ms. H.'s child. Ms. H. thought it was real, so from March 15, 2023 to April 15, 2023, she transferred more than 90 million VND to Tung 76 times.

Previously, around January 2023, Tung saw Ms. NTKT in Son Duong district (Tuyen Quang) post on the Facebook group "Kinh Dich Hoi" asking to find the body of her husband's brother who drowned in the Lo River. Tung texted Ms. T. to hold a ceremony and soon have information about finding the family. On January 18, 2023, Ms. T. transferred more than 5.2 million VND to Tung 4 times.

In May 2023, Tung saw Ms. PTHN in Tam Nong district (Phu Tho) using Facebook accounts named "Hong Ngoc" and "Tran Nhat Minh" to post articles on the group.“Kinh Dich Hoi” asked to ask if Ms. N’s father could recover from his illness. Tung texted Ms. N. saying that a ceremony was needed for her father to recover. Ms. N. transferred more than 3.5 million VND 6 times.

Pay a high price

In addition to the above 4 scams, Tung also scammed many victims 6 times with the trick of guiding them to find their belongings, pets... Typically, on June 11, 2022, Tung saw Ms. LTN in Nam Giang district (Quang Nam) post on a Facebook group asking to find items left at the airport with the content that she had a gift sent by a friend abroad but due to procedural problems, she had not received it. Tung immediately texted Ms. N. saying that he had an acquaintance at the airport who wanted to help her find the item. Tung asked Ms. N. to transfer money to get the goods, tax, airport fees... Ms. N. believed him so she transferred 401 times the amount of more than 489 million VND to Tung.

In early September, the Hai Duong Provincial People's Court held a first-instance trial of Dam Thanh Tung for fraud and property appropriation. In court, Tung confessed to using the VND718 million he had swindled from 10 people for gambling and personal expenses. The jury sentenced Dam Thanh Tung to 12 years and 6 months in prison for fraud and property appropriation.

In the above case, the gullibility, trust, and lack of knowledge of the victims turned themselves into prey for the scammers. The authorities recommend that people should not listen to rumors and untrue information about spiritual healing; believe in nonsense and not transfer money to the subjects when asked to pay for offerings, worship, etc. to avoid losing money and getting sick.