The alleged scammers are repatriated from Cambodia to Việt Nam in mid-March. — Photo courtesy of the police

HÀ NỘI — Some 346 suspects involved in scam operations in Cambodia have been prosecuted by the Criminal Police Department under the Ministry of Public Security after allegedly appropriating more than VNĐ130 billion (US$4.9 million) from nearly 5,000 victims.

Among them, 343 defendants have been detained and prosecuted for using computer networks, telecommunications networks or electronic devices to appropriate property.

They come from across the country, including Hà Nội, Nghệ An, Đà Nẵng, Đắk Lắk, Cà Mau, An Giang, Cần Thơ and HCM City.

Three of the female defendants, who are pregnant or raising children under three years old, are prohibited from leaving their place of residence.

Police also stated that most of the individuals who went to Cambodia to work did so voluntarily, attracted by high salaries and commissions. Among the 346 defendants, more than 120 are women.

This Cambodia-based scam ring is said to be led by a Chinese national nicknamed Gấu (Bear). Their large-scale operations were conducted using social media and fake websites to lure victims with schemes involving high-return investments, romantic relationships or prize-winning games.

On March 17, Vietnamese authorities received 801 citizens deported from Cambodia through Mộc Bài and Hoa Lư border gates.

At Mộc Bài International Border Gate, criminal police forces received 457 Vietnamese nationals and 147 desktop computers.

Initial screening revealed that 346 of them had worked for a large-scale transnational criminal organisation based at Building D3 in Banteay Meanchey Province, Cambodia.

Highly organised

Police officially initiated prosecution proceedings for the case on March 26. During the investigation, two suspects, Trần Anh Vương and Nguyễn Quốc Khánh, confessed that they were assigned by the Chinese national Gấu to manage a group of Vietnamese at Building D3.

The building’s first and second floors were divided into ten rooms for fraudulent activities alongside a human resources room.

Scammers were grouped into four departments and received high salaries for their operations. All operations were reported in detail to Vương and team leaders.

IT staff are responsible for acquiring and editing social media accounts, installing, maintaining and repairing computers, compiling data and customer leads and operating fraud apps and websites that impersonate well-known brands.

In monthly internal meetings, sales staff set personal goals and review performance to report to their superiors and boost productivity. Their basic salary was approximately $200 per month, plus a commission of 8 to 15 per cent of the misappropriated funds from victims.

After training on regulations and workflows, sales staff used fake social media accounts to create personalities tailored to each target, such as divorcees, single people or migrant workers, and build relationships. They collected information and sent regular messages to gain trust from victims, who were then lured into investing in fake apps and websites promising high returns or lottery draws.

When victims wanted to deposit money, sales staff would instruct them to contact customer service via chat. This department was responsible for answering questions, adding money to accounts as instructed or changing information per the victim’s request.

Scammers then continued to provide false information, such as requests for income tax, account maintenance fees, renewal fees, identity verification or bonuses to force victims to deposit more money.

They would block victims on social media once they determined no further payments were possible or when the victims realised they had been scammed. Staff in this department earn approximately $800 a month, plus a commission of 8 to 15 per cent.

Telephone staff were usually women with an attractive appearance. In some cases, male sales staff impersonated women to chat with male victims. When victims made calls to verify, telephone staff would communicate on behalf of salespeople to build trust and facilitate the scam. Their salary ranges from $200 to $500 per month.

Meanwhile, the human resources department answered to the Chinese leader. They would post job ads on social media promoting easy work, high pay of VNĐ15 to 25 million ($570 to $950) per month to lure young job seekers from Việt Nam.

Members of this department received a base salary of $300 per month plus a bonus of $200 for each new recruit.

A banking department of 10 members was in charge of money laundering, transferring stolen funds through multiple accounts to legitimise and conceal their origin to avoid detection by authorities. Their salary ranges between VNĐ40 to 75 million ($1,520 to $2,850) per month.

A translator team of Vietnamese nationals fluent in Chinese is responsible for communication between Chinese supervisors and Vietnamese staff during assignments and reports. Their salary is approximately $600 per month.

There is also a kitchen providing free meals for all employees on the compound. Kitchen staff receive about $200 per month.

Ongoing investigation

Investigators stated that nearly 5,000 people of Vietnamese and other nationalities have fallen victim to the scams. With total appropriated funds of VNĐ130 billion, each victim is estimated to have lost millions to billions of đồng.

One example was a man from Thái Nguyên Province who was scammed out of VNĐ1.5 billion ($57,000) after trusting a girlfriend he met online. Another woman from Đồng Nai Province lost VNĐ1.8 billion after falling for a fake Vietnamese-born US citizen online.

The case is under further investigation.

The Criminal Police Department has called for public vigilance against job advertisements offering easy work, high salaries abroad to avoid becoming victims or being involved in illegal activities of criminal organisations. — VNS