Combating "loan shark" scams via apps.

The tactics of the director of the company "Good Voice".

The Ho Chi Minh City Police and district/county authorities are continuously intensifying investigations and prosecutions of numerous companies and businesses operating under false pretenses, engaging in usurious lending practices. Many individuals and defendants are accused of extortion related to illegal lending and debt collection. The police are also coordinating with city departments, agencies, and organizations to launch a campaign to raise public awareness and encourage people to remove and erase illegal advertising throughout the city.

On May 29th, 11 suspects, including directors and employees of three online lending companies, were charged and detained by the Criminal Police Department of Ho Chi Minh City for the crime of extortion. Among them are Nguyen Manh Hai (30 years old, residing in Khanh Hoa province) - Director of Tieng Noi Hay Debt Collection Company; Vu Ngoc Minh Khanh (28 years old, residing in Khanh Hoa province) - team leader; Nguyen Thi Thuy Van (28 years old, residing in District 7); and Tran Thi Mai (27 years old, residing in Thu Duc City), managers of approximately 21 lending apps. In addition, there are employees of Golden Company, Bamboo Company, and others who manage online lending apps.

Nguyen Manh Hai, Director of Tieng Noi Hay Debt Collection Company, has been charged and arrested.

Previously, through monitoring online activities and information provided by the public, it was found that many advertisements for online loan apps, requiring no collateral and no paperwork, were circulating. These ads appealed to people's psychology with promises of quick disbursement, simple procedures, and no income verification required. The apps were easy to install, requiring users to download and install them on their phones following instructions, without realizing that to receive a loan, they had to allow the lending app access to their phone contacts, personal photos, and other user information.

The lending method used by these "loan sharks" involves short-term payments of only 7 to 10 days with high interest rates (disguised as service fees...). When borrowers fail to repay on time, their agents will call or text them to remind them of the debt.

If a borrower fails to repay or cuts off contact, the staff will use the contact list to call relatives and friends, reminding them that "if you borrow, you must repay" to avoid bothering them.

After demanding repayment from borrowers and their relatives and friends regarding outstanding loans, the employees will make abusive and threatening phone calls and send vulgar and insulting text messages, including digitally altered personal images with obscene or nude pictures, to pressure them into paying on behalf of the borrowers to avoid further harassment and abuse. Additionally, these groups will either directly or hire people to throw paint or other foul substances, damaging people's property and disrupting public order and security in the city.

The Ho Chi Minh City Police Department's leadership directed the Criminal Police Department to establish a special investigation case, applying professional methods in coordination with the Criminal Police Department, other professional departments of the Ministry of Public Security , and the Can Tho City Police Department. They verified and collected documents, identifying more than 32 online lending apps operating with sophisticated debt collection methods and tactics.

According to initial investigations, Nguyen Manh Hai is the Director of Tieng Noi Hay Company, which guides and manages lending via app and debt collection (the owner is a Chinese national who hired Nguyen Manh Hai to run the company).

The police searched the residence of Cao Thi Xuan Huong, chief accountant of Sofi Solutions Co., Ltd.

Each day, each member receives approximately 10 overdue loan files to collect debts and earns 50,000 VND for the first 3 files and 50,000 VND for each subsequent completed file. Debt collection is based on performance targets (KPI) and the company will reward members with 3 to 3.5 million VND upon achieving the KPI.

To carry out debt collection, Hai provided phones, SIM cards, and text message templates with content such as: "You beasts, bark at the dog (customer's full name) and (parent's phone number) to pay back (amount)... You guys who cheat me out of money won't get away with it..." for group members to use to threaten borrowers and their relatives.

Making 300 or more calls a day is required.

The police also determined that Tran Thi Mai (an employee of Golden Company) managed a total of about 21 loan apps (some such as: Baovay, Goldvay, Sugarvay, Ezvay, Ppvay, Fullcash, Cfcash, 99cash, Maxvay, Wellvay, Ucvay, Fixloan, Dodong, Find[1]ong, Roseloan, Bigcash, Cash66, Flydong, Okloan, Aloloan, Seacash), and operated all the employees of these apps. Every day, the employees would be instructed on how to collect money and would be paid a salary along with allowances such as bonuses and responsibility money. The police determined that each loan app would create a group on social media to operate and divide into levels from S0 (new employee) to S1 (employee collecting debt from 1 to 7 days), S2 (employee collecting debt from 8 to 30 days).

Meanwhile, the two suspects Dam Chi Hao and Chau Kha Nghi worked as debt collectors at Golden Company from June 2022 to the present. Hao and Nghi admitted that Hao was hired to work in the debt group with overdue debts under 7 days, including 3 groups, using the applications: Goldway, Dodong, Fixloan, while Nghi was introduced to work in the debt reminder group and used the applications Find[1]ong, Fullcash of Golden Company's system managed by Tran Thi Mai.

Tran Thi Thanh Huong (born in 1995, from Dong Thap province) is a debt collection employee of Bamboo Finance Company (with a representative office at 86 Nguyen Trai Street, Cai Khe Ward, Ninh Kieu District, Can Tho City). Bamboo Finance Company uses applications including: Magician, Sun Shine Loan, Eagle, Craft, Ech Vay, Giraffe, Camel, Gourd, King Kong, Landlord, Dinosaur, Cactus, Shooting Star, Swan, and Key to trick customers into taking out loans.

In addition, the police also identified the defendants Nguyen Thi Cam Hong as an employee of the apps Tu Do and Doc Lap; Tran Tan Tien worked as a debt collector for loan apps owned by Chinese people including Nano, Gola, Asa, Benta, Bason, Roly, Anfa, Misa, Mango, Vila. In 2022, Tien collected debts for the Mango and Vila apps; Nguyen Vang Trung was the head of the debt collection team and Nguyen Thanh Tung was a debt collector, of the apps NamLoan, BlueVay, Ap[1]pleLoan, SunLoan, MunLoan, Pedong, BeeLoan, Reddong, HotDong... Vang and Trung worked under the direction and management of a Chinese person.

The police searched the residence and workplace of Tran Dung, head of operations at Sofi Solutions Co., Ltd.

According to the investigation results, the aforementioned lending apps typically have three levels of debt collection. Levels 1 and 2 involve sending threatening messages and making threatening phone calls to borrowers and their relatives, while level 3 involves terrorizing relatives by digitally altering images of the borrower or their relatives, including images depicting debt evasion, being placed on an altar, prostitution, and other sensitive images, and posting them on social media or sending them to the borrower's Zalo account and their relatives and friends through the borrower's contact list.

These lending apps typically have multiple departments such as loan assessment, system management, debt reminders and collection, debt collection staff management, and debt sales. Those working in the debt reminder and collection department claim their only job is to call customers to remind them to pay on time. If they don't pay, they'll receive abusive and threatening messages, and their loan files will be transferred to the debt collection department, where threats will become more severe, such as posting or photoshopped images on Facebook and Zalo. This department is expected to make at least 300 calls per day.

If debt collection is unsuccessful, lending apps will sell the debt to sham law firms, debt trading companies, finance companies, etc., to continue debt collection using tactics such as harassing phone calls, threatening relatives, and posting fabricated photos on social media to tarnish and damage the reputation and honor of the borrower and their family.

Similarly, on May 28th, nine directors, department heads, section heads, and team leaders from Digital Credit Trading and Service Company Limited, Fincap Vietnam Company Limited, and Sofi Solutions Company Limited were also charged by the Ho Chi Minh City Police with the crime of "usurious lending in civil transactions".

During the investigation, Ho Chi Minh City Police determined that these companies were operating under the guise of pawnshop and financial consulting services to engage in usurious lending through the websites tamo.vn and findo.vn.

These are illegal online consumer lending websites, pre-programmed, with data servers located abroad and operated from overseas. Companies such as Sofi Solutions, Digital Credit, and Fincap conduct lending activities in Vietnam.

When in need of a loan, customers simply log into the website or mobile app, fill in their personal information and loan request, and the system will automatically process the loan application without any direct contact with the lender's staff.

From April 2019 to April 2023, through the two websites mentioned above, Digital Credit Trading and Service Company Limited, Fincap Vietnam Company Limited, and Sofi Solutions Company Limited disbursed over 2 million loans, totaling over 6,072 billion VND, and illegally profited over 4,123.4 billion VND, with interest rates ranging from a minimum of 153.2% to a maximum of 1,289.67%, which is 7 to 64 times higher than the maximum interest rate stipulated in the Civil Code...

These cases reveal that the situation of usurious lending through apps or websites disguised as legitimate businesses remains complex, with many sophisticated variations, causing much public outrage and affecting security and order. At the same time, law enforcement agencies have demonstrated their determination to intensify the fight against and prosecution of crimes related to "black credit" via apps, illegal debt collection disguised as financial consulting firms, legal consulting firms, etc.

Ho Chi Minh City police are warning citizens to be vigilant. When needing capital for business, they should contact banks and financial institutions licensed by the State to benefit from preferential policies and appropriate interest rates. Furthermore, people should avoid borrowing money through illegal apps to prevent the leakage of personal information, phone contacts, and images, and to avoid harassment, vandalism, and other negative impacts on themselves and their families. Customers' personal information could also be sold to scammers or used in illegal activities.

Over nearly a month of implementing a campaign to raise public awareness and encourage people to remove illegal advertising products throughout the city, the Ho Chi Minh City Police have discovered and verified hundreds of phone numbers related to financial lending activities, identifying 50 suspected individuals. They have prosecuted 3 cases involving 17 defendants for crimes related to "loan sharking," and issued administrative penalties to 43 cases for illegal advertising.

According to the People's Police Newspaper

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