VietNamNet Bridge – Police in the central province of Quang Nam have detained six Taiwanese citizens on suspicion of fraud and asset appropriation, online newspaper Vietnamplus.vn reported.

The detainees at police station. -- baotintuc.vn photo

Chung Shao Teng, Chang Seng Ping, Chang Chia Pin, and Bian Zong Xun, as well as Chang Fu Lung and Lo Yu Hsuan, were detained by Quang Nam Police in coordination with authorities from HCM City and Tay Ninh Province after an investigation was conducted in response to a complaint made by a resident of Ai Nghia Town in Quang Nam’s Dai Loc District to police on June 6 that he had lost VND1.9 billion (US$83,000) as a result of swindling and appropriation committed through a phone call.

Along with the six Chinese-Taiwanese citizens, six Vietnamese suspected of being members of the fraud ring were also detained.

Huynh Hoang An and Dinh Chi Quyen, residents of Chau Thanh District in the southern province of Tay Ninh, Doan Van Quan from Trang Bang District in Tay Ninh Province, and Nguyen Minh Truong of the Go Dau District in Tay Ninh, were arrested in connection to the swindling scheme, along with Tran Huynh Phuc, a resident of Son Tra District of Da Nang City, and Le Van Suu from Huong Son District in Ha Tinh Province.

The police said the Taiwanese suspects contacted their Vietnamese accomplices over the internet to search for personal information of potential Vietnamese victims.

They then called the victims via VOIP service and tricked them by posing as law enforcement officials investigating criminal cases who called to warn them that their saving accounts had been hacked and used for money laundering. The victims were then told to transfer money to bank accounts of law enforcement agencies, which turned out to be owned by the suspects.

The victims were told to keep the phone calls secret.

Many people fell victim to the scheme, as the total amount of money appropriated by the gang was over VND6.9 billion (US$300,000), the police reported. 

Source: VNS