Police search one of four companies allegedly set up by Trần Quang Đạo to operate the scam network. — Photo courtesy of police

HCM City — A 34-year-old man allegedly bought more than 1.1 billion personal records for over VNĐ2.1 billion (US$80,800) and used the data to target more than 5,400 people in a scam that took over VNĐ39.6 billion.

Trần Quang Đạo, a resident in HCM City, has been charged with fraud and illegally providing or using information on computer and telecommunications networks, according to an indictment completed by the Supreme People’s Procuracy and transferred to the HCM City People’s Procuracy.

Trần Tấn Tài faces a charge of illegally providing or using information on computer and telecommunications networks, while 179 others have been charged with fraud as alleged accomplices of Đạo.

Prosecutors identified Đạo as the alleged mastermind of the operation.

According to the indictment, the group operated from August 2023 to June 2025, using personal data to target elderly and vulnerable people, particularly those who regularly bought health supplements and had limited knowledge of technology.

From August 2023 to October 2024, Đạo allegedly bought more than 1.1 billion personal records from Tài for more than VNĐ2.1 billion.

Tài allegedly obtained the data from various sources on social media for nearly VNĐ1.4 billion before selling it to Đạo, making nearly VNĐ770 million in illegal profits, prosecutors said.

Using the data, Đạo allegedly set up four companies and a TikTok Shop in HCM City, with relatives and friends acting as nominal owners.

Employees were trained to call people while posing as representatives of hospitals and healthcare centres. They offered gifts and prize draws before asking victims to pay various fees.

In one common script, victims were told they had been selected to receive 10 months of free bird's nest drinks, with the first delivery requiring payment of VNĐ279,000 for shipping.

Two or three days later, callers allegedly contacted them again and said they were eligible for a prize draw, offering prizes worth VNĐ10 million to VNĐ100 million, including massage chairs, refrigerators, televisions and washing machines.

Victims were asked to pay VNĐ730,000 to VNĐ990,000 to complete paperwork. They were later told they had won a bigger prize and asked to transfer another VNĐ1 million to VNĐ3 million, allegedly as a warehouse release fee.

The demands were repeated under different pretexts until victims realised they had been cheated or could no longer contact the callers.

Đạo allegedly used internet-based calls and disguised phone numbers to hide the callers' identities. He also directed accomplices to open bank accounts and arrange contracts with delivery companies to deliver goods and collect payments.

From March to June 2025, the group allegedly carried out 11,143 fraudulent orders, taking more than VNĐ39.6 billion from over 5,400 victims nationwide.

Investigators have identified more than 3,450 victims, while efforts to locate another 1,960 potential victims have so far been unsuccessful.

Prosecutors said Đạo ordered data to be deleted to conceal the operation, leaving the group's customer management system with records dating only from March 2025.

Đạo has returned VNĐ120 million, while Tài has returned VNĐ200 million in alleged illicit gains.

The defendants admitted to the offences during the investigation, prosecutors said, adding that their statements were consistent with other evidence collected in the case.

The charges remain allegations until a court issues a final judgment. — VNS