Lost nearly 15 billion VND after a call from a person claiming to be the "Director" of the Ministry of Public Security

The Criminal Police Department, Ho Chi Minh City Police is investigating the case of Mr. L. (born in 1952, residing in Ho Chi Minh City) reporting the loss of nearly 15 billion VND after listening to a video call from a person claiming to be the "Director" of the Ministry of Public Security.

On the morning of April 17, Mr. L. received a call and picked up the phone. The person on the other end claimed to be a police officer. This person said that Mr. L. was involved in a criminal ring and that the police had an arrest warrant for him. Mr. L. explained that he was involved in a criminal ring and the police had an arrest warrant for him. When Mr. L. tried to explain, the police officer called him on video call to talk. Mr. L. was scared when he saw the police officer with the arrest warrant. The police officer said he would transfer the phone to the leaders of the Ministry of Public Security to work with Mr. L.

A few minutes later, Mr. L. received a phone call with the number 034... claiming to be Major General Nguyen Van Vien, Director of the Department of Drug Crime Investigation, Ministry of Public Security. The "Director" also made a video call and said that Mr. L. was involved in a case that required verification of the account he owned at Vietcombank, and asked him to declare and transfer money for investigation. If Mr. L. was not involved, the "Director" said he would return it.

Believing him, Mr. L. went to the bank to transfer 6 billion VND to the account number provided by the "Director". As soon as Mr. L. transferred the money, the Director called and told him that he had to buy a new phone and SIM card to register with the bank; at the same time, he was instructed to install the app "Ministry of Public Security Electronic Information Portal" to declare his full name, citizen identification, bank account, login name, password...

On April 18, Mr. L. received a phone call from the "Director" asking him to go to the bank to transfer money for verification. Mr. L. continued to transfer more than 8 billion VND to the account provided by the "Director". But this time, he waited a long time without seeing the "Director" call back and pay the money, so Mr. L. became suspicious and asked his relatives. Mr. L. and his relatives went to the bank to check and discovered that the total amount of nearly 15 billion VND in Mr. L.'s account had been transferred to 4 different bank accounts. At this time, the victim realized he had been scammed and reported it to the police.

Not long ago, Ho Chi Minh City Police issued a warning about the scam of impersonating officials of functional agencies (police officers, tax authorities, etc.) or relatives and acquaintances of the victim using Deepfake technology to disguise images and voices, and make video calls with the victim to create trust. During the video call, using many tricks, the subject will ask the victim to look straight, tilt left, tilt right, etc. In addition, the subject will record the video and use it to open a bank account or e-wallet in the victim's name.

Ho Chi Minh City Police once again affirms that when working, verifying, and investigating, police agencies at all levels will work directly or send written notices to the authorities, individuals, and organizations, and absolutely will not work via phone and social networks. When detecting acts with signs of fraud, people should quickly report to the nearest police agency for handling in accordance with the law.

According to VNA