The Tay Ho district Police said they were are handling a criminal case after T, 77, a woman in Tay Ho district, told them she was a victim of asset appropriation.

T told police that she received a call from a man who introduced himself as a policeman in Hoan Kiem district. The man said she owed VND63 billion to a bank. The victim, fearing prosecution, transferred VND18 billion to the man in six transactions to pay the debt.

Ha Dong district Police are investigating another case in which scammers impersonated policemen to appropriate VND15 billion from P, 68, in the locality.

On April 5, P answered a call from a man who said he was a policeman. The person said P’s ID card had connections to a drug trafficking and money laundry ring. If P could not prove that she was innocent, she could be arrested in several days.

P was requested to transfer money to the man’s bank account for verification; she transferred money 32 times, totaling VND15 billion.

One year ago, L, 71, in HCM City, received video calls from many men, who said they were high ranking officials and Major General of the Ministry of Public Security. When observing the callers’ instructions, L discovered that he had lost VND15 billion.

In March 2022, a professor, 83, in Hanoi reported that he lost VND750 million after a number of days answering calls from scammers and suffering psychological manipulation.

The police have warned that the number of victims falling into scammers’ traps and losing assets is on the rise. 

This is affecting people from all walks of life, such as professors with high education levels, and businesspeople with many years of experience. 

Ngo Huynh Phuong Thao from TAT Law Firm, said professors, businesspeople and older people only have a lot of experience in the fields of their concern.

Many older people ignore warnings about fraud, and don’t have sufficient knowledge to protect themselves.

Thao advised people to keep up with the news about social order and security to recognize the tricks scammers use. 

Police and state agencies don’t communicate with citizens via phone calls and social networks.

Tien Dung