HCM CITY — Police in HCM City have arrested two men for using fake bank accounts to cheat several customers, earning hundreds of millions of đồng.

Phạm Tiến Mạnh, 32, residing in District 8, and Hạp Tiến Bắc, 46, residing in Tàn Phú District, were arrested on charges of “appropriating property through swindling.”

According to police investigators, the two suspects bought identity cards at pawn shops and used them to open different bank accounts. They advertised online the sale of motorbikes at a reasonable price. When customers agreed to their price, they would be asked to transfer the money to the designated fake accounts.

On March 8, a man named H from Đồng Nai Province telephoned Mạnh, asking to buy a motorbike at a price of VNĐ20 million (US$890) based on information he had read on the website chotot.vn.

Mạnh asked H to contact a man named Hoang, an accomplice whose real name is Hạp Tiến Bắc, to deliver the money and receive the motorbike.

Bắc told H that he was attending a meeting when he called and persuaded him to transfer the money to his account.

H did so but did not receive the motorbike as promised and could not contact Mạnh or Bắc by phone.

Suspecting that he had been swindled, H informed the police of the incident.

Police in Bình Thạnh District have blocked the account to which H had transferred his money.

Police further discovered that 23 people had sent money to this account, including 12 other victims like H.

Investigations revealed that the person named on the account has lost his identity card and had not opened the bank account. Mạnh was identified as the recipient withdrawing money from the account.

Mạnh and Bắc were arrested last Friday while they were meeting on Bình Tân District’s Lê Trọng Tấn Street.

HCM Police are expanding their investigation into this case of fraud. — VNS