Lang Son police successfully cracked a fraud case involving trillions of dong.

Vietnamese and Cambodian authorities are discussing options.

Previously, through investigative work, the Lang Son Provincial Police discovered a group of individuals using social media platforms to defraud people of their assets online by befriending them and soliciting investments in fake websites and applications. The Lang Son Provincial Police established a special task force and concentrated its efforts on dismantling this group. Through the coordinated implementation of various operational measures, the Lang Son Provincial Police, in collaboration with the professional departments of the Ministry of Public Security , domestic and international law enforcement agencies, and police units and localities, successfully apprehended 22 individuals operating in Cambodia.

The arrested individuals range in age from 18 to 41, mostly from the provinces of Lang Son, Dong Nai, Thanh Hoa, An Giang, Gia Lai, Lam Dong, Hai Phong city, and Hanoi city. Among them, Nguyen Thi Chin (alias: Hoa, born in 1995, residing in Hai Phong city, the "common-law wife" of the foreign mastermind) was the ringleader of the fraud operation. The seized evidence included 10 computers and 38 mobile phones.

The investigation revealed that, through job postings on social media, under the guise of easy work and high salaries, the individuals in the ring were recruited into a shell company located in Tam Thai Tu, The Sampeou, Kaol Thum, Kandal, Cambodia, led by Nguyen Thi Chin and other foreign nationals, who used cyberspace to defraud and steal property from people.

Here, the individuals stayed together in a building managed by a foreign national and were provided with documents, scripts, and dialogues for the scams to read and memorize. They were divided into teams to carry out the fraudulent activities and steal property. The individuals acting as team leaders in each team (Chín was the team leader of Team 1) were directly responsible for managing and operating the scams, assigning tasks, checking daily targets, and directing their staff to approach and entice victims in order to steal their property.

The employees in each team directly carried out the fraud by using social media platforms (mainly TikTok, Facebook, and Zalo) to create fake accounts to scam and steal assets online through methods such as making friends, soliciting investments in gambling applications, etc.

The perpetrators operate by using images and impersonating others on social media to build a persona of success, being single or divorced, and seeking companionship and friendship (mostly middle-aged, single, or divorced women). After gaining trust, they frequently message, video call, and share details about their lives, work, and personal circumstances, even fabricating stories of betrayal or isolation to evoke sympathy and pity. They then paint a picture of a happy future, promising marriage, cohabitation, starting a company, or joint business investments… to lay the groundwork for the next stage of the scam.

The suspects were arrested along with numerous pieces of evidence in Cambodia.

Once the victim was completely convinced, the perpetrator presented a scenario claiming to be involved in fixing security vulnerabilities at casinos in Hong Kong and Macau, discovering a loophole that could be exploited to make money during the 3 PM and 8 PM time slots daily. From there, the perpetrator lured the victim into investing in a fake website they operated, with the addresses cs.1668996.cc and cs.1668997.cc. To build trust, the perpetrator temporarily transferred their account to the victim, claiming they were "busy with work, attending security meetings, and unable to access the site." When the victim performed the transaction, the fake system displayed a "successful" withdrawal transaction, along with a receipt image, which was actually fabricated data.

They then instruct the victims to open their own investment accounts and deposit real money into the fake system, promising high returns of 5-30% per day. Initially, the victims are allowed to "try withdrawing" a small amount to build trust. When the victims begin depositing larger sums, the perpetrators frequently use emotional language, creating psychological pressure and urging them to "invest more to get married soon," "have money to build a home," "have capital to start a business," etc. If the victims lack money, the perpetrators encourage them to borrow, pawn assets, or ask relatives to transfer money.

The suspects were arrested right at the scene where they were committing the fraud.

When the victim is no longer able to deposit more money, the perpetrator fakes a system error, delays withdrawals, then locks the account and cuts off all communication. All images, videos, transactions, and social media conversations are deleted or disabled, causing the victim to lose all their invested money and making it impossible to trace the transactions.

Vietnamese police officers inspect the seized evidence.

This is a large-scale, organized fraud ring operating professionally, sophisticatedly, and complexly across borders and internationally. Vietnamese individuals colluded with a group of foreign nationals, operating in Cambodia, to commit fraud and steal property from citizens through the internet. The actions of these individuals not only caused exceptionally serious economic damage to many Vietnamese citizens but also posed a potential risk of other crimes such as money laundering, human trafficking, forced labor, and illegal immigration.

On December 15, 2025, the Investigation Police Department of Lang Son Province issued a decision to initiate criminal proceedings and indict 22 individuals involved in a network for using computer networks, telecommunications networks, and electronic means to misappropriate property. The investigation is ongoing and being expanded. The Lang Son Provincial Police Department advises citizens who have been victims of fraud and misappropriation of property in this manner to promptly contact the Investigation Police Department of Lang Son Province to report the incidents and assist in the investigation and prosecution of the perpetrators.