Ho Chi Minh City Police warned about two recent cases in which scammers posing as police officers manipulated victims into transferring money. In one case, a victim was persuaded to take money, gold and other assets from a safe before sending the funds to accounts specified by the scammers.
On November 1, Ho Chi Minh City Police said they had handled two cases involving victims who were psychologically manipulated into following unusual instructions, causing financial losses.
In the first case, on October 23, Bay Hien Ward Police and the Criminal Police Division investigated a suspected online kidnapping involving P.T.T.N., born in 2008 and from the former Binh Phuoc province. Nearly an hour after receiving the report, police found the victim at a hotel on Nguyen Minh Hoang Street in Bay Hien Ward.
When officers found her, the victim was communicating online with a scammer in Cambodia. Initial verification showed that N. had transferred more than 3 million dong to a bank account at the scammer's direction.
Earlier, on October 21, Di An Ward Police received a report from T.L.T.K., born in 2008, who said scammers posing as police officers had taken almost 2 billion dong.
According to the report, at about 9 a.m. that day, the victim received a call from an unfamiliar number. The caller claimed to be a police officer and said that K. was connected to a money-laundering ring.
To prove her innocence, K. was told to carry out asset verification steps. Frightened and believing the information provided by the scammers, she bought tools to break open the safe at home, removed money, gold and other assets, sold them, and then made several transfers to bank accounts specified by the scammers.
Ho Chi Minh City Police said these were not new criminal methods. Police and other authorities have repeatedly warned the public about them through the mass media.
Despite those warnings, many people, especially teenagers, school pupils and students, remain careless and can be manipulated into handing over their assets.
Ho Chi Minh City Police advised residents to be especially cautious with calls and messages from people claiming to be police officers, prosecutors, judges or other officials who say the recipient is connected to a criminal case or money-laundering ring, or demand proof of assets.
Authorities do not ask people to transfer money to prove their innocence. They do not investigate or take statements through video-calling apps, and they do not tell people to isolate themselves, rent a hotel room or cut contact with their families for an investigation.
If a call contains threats, demands for secrecy, instructions to move to a private location, requests to keep a camera on or demands for money for verification, bail or proof of assets, people should stay calm, end the contact and go to the nearest police station to verify the information.
Sources: Dân Trí
