A student in Ho Chi Minh City was scammed out of 1.1 billion VND online.

Manipulated and threatened by scammers, a student at a university in Ho Chi Minh City repeatedly asked his family to transfer 1.1 billion VND.

Hackers employ many sophisticated methods to infiltrate users' bank accounts and social media accounts - Photo: PHUONG QUYEN

Speaking to Tuoi Tre Online , Ms. T., the parent of a student, said that the money was already lost, and she didn't blame her child or the school. She only hoped that the information would reach more people to prevent them from falling victim to this scam.

Continuous money transfers

Ms. T. said that M. - her son - is a first-year student at RMIT University in Ho Chi Minh City. That day, near the end of the afternoon, her son called to say that the university had sent an email about the student exchange program starting on January 6th, and M. was one of the 20 students selected.

"However, because she was busy with her studies, M. forgot to check. Today was the deadline for completing the procedures, so she asked me to transfer 250 million VND to her account to prove her financial stability. She said all she needed was for the account to have enough money for them to see. I trusted her, so I transferred the money," Ms. T. recounted.

However, M. then called the family again, requesting another 500 million VND, and later asked for an additional 250 million VND for living expenses. The family suspected something was amiss and said they would go to the school to check. However, at 4 PM, M. said the teachers were about to leave because it was the end of the workday.

Ms. T. suggested that her child go into the school's finance office so she could speak with someone from the school. M. agreed and handed the phone to the person who identified himself as "Mr. Khang, a staff member from the finance office" to speak with.

After this conversation, the family continued to transfer money to their child. "Then my child asked for more money, giving one excuse after another. I asked if my child could guarantee that they had gone to the finance department, and they said: 'I'm in the finance department, the teachers guided me.' The total amount the family transferred was 1.1 billion VND," Ms. T. said.

In fact, recently, many universities in Ho Chi Minh City have issued warnings about fraudulent scholarship and student exchange programs impersonating the universities. These announcements have been sent to many students.

Trap scenario

Despite having transferred the money, the family felt something was amiss. That evening, they asked their child to show them the account. The child said they had transferred the money to the school's financial proof account and would return it within 24 hours. "When I pressed further, the child begged us not to ask any more questions, promising to tell us the truth within 72 hours. I knew I had been scammed, but my child was so distraught that I didn't dare ask any more questions," Ms. T. recounted.

The next day, her daughter went to the school again, and the same scenario repeated itself: she again requested 250 million VND. Ms. T. said she would go to the school herself, but M. said there wasn't enough time. At this point, realizing she had been scammed, Ms. T. told her daughter that if there wasn't enough time, they wouldn't go anymore.

"I went to the exchange school and learned that many other students at the school had also received notifications about this student exchange program, and that it was fraudulent information."

"Finally, I found out the truth: my child did all of those things alone at the guesthouse, guided by a fraudulent organization. They had a pre-planned scenario, manipulating my child's psychology to make her obediently follow their instructions while she was very scared," Ms. T. recounted.

When the scam came to light, M. said she received an email containing an arrest warrant with a red stamp from the Ministry of Public Security , alleging her involvement in a fraud ring. Following this, someone repeatedly called M., stating her correct citizen identification number, name, and email address, and threatening her extradition to Hanoi to serve her sentence, as well as threatening to harm her parents. Fearing and panicking, M. followed the scammers' instructions.

"The money was lost, but I just considered it a lesson without scolding my child. The lesson is that parents trust their children too much," Ms. T. further shared.

Students have been warned about scams.

Regarding the case of a student being scammed online, the leadership of RMIT University Vietnam stated that ensuring student safety is always the university's top priority.

According to the university's leadership, the school has been warning students about the increasing number of scams through a bi-weekly student newsletter via email since November 2024. There is also an information page providing online safety knowledge for students. Unfortunately, such scams are not only targeting RMIT University students but also students from other universities.

"To avoid falling victim to scams, we have advised students to: only make payments through official channels listed on the university's website. Check tuition fee notices via myRMIT, the official student management portal of RMIT University. Only trust exchange programs and scholarships announced on the official RMIT University website. Protect personal information, including student ID numbers. We are committed to keeping our students informed and safe," the university representative added.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/mot-sinh-vien-o-tp-hcm-bi-lua-dao-qua-mang-1-1-ti-dong-202501180906483.htm