On July 10, the Cybersecurity and High-Tech Crime Prevention Division under the Hanoi Police Department announced that it had initiated criminal proceedings and charged three suspects with illegally providing or using information on computer and telecommunications networks.

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Suspect Dao Quang Huy. Photo: Hanoi Police.

According to investigators, after months of coordinated investigative measures, authorities established six task forces in February 2026 to simultaneously carry out searches and summon suspects in Hanoi, Phu Tho and Quang Ninh.

The investigation identified Dao Quang Huy (born in 1992), director of HCT Digital Technology Development Co., Ltd., as the alleged ringleader.

Police searched the company's headquarters in The Manor Nguyen Xien urban area in Hanoi, seizing 20 computers, 25 mobile phones, several automobiles and a large volume of documents and electronic evidence for further investigation.

Initial findings indicate that from late 2021, Huy and his associates established and operated the website taphoammo.net, creating an intermediary platform that allowed users to open online storefronts to advertise and trade personal data, social media accounts, email accounts, account verification services and other digital resources.

Operating behind the façade of a technology company

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 Investigators question individuals connected to the case. Photo: Hanoi Police.

To attract users, the group allegedly registered a domain name, hosted servers overseas and promoted the platform through Facebook, Telegram, TikTok, Instagram and Google.

Investigators said the operation was presented as a technology startup but functioned as a well-organized business, complete with administration, technical support, marketing, customer service, accounting and payment departments.

Electronic evidence extracted during the investigation shows the platform had more than 1.35 million registered accounts and over 46,000 online storefronts, of which more than 3,000 were actively operating.

Authorities estimate the platform facilitated more than 53 million transactions, generating preliminary revenue exceeding VND400 billion (about US$15.3 million).

The operators allegedly collected intermediary fees ranging from 3% to 5% on each transaction, earning billions of Vietnamese dong in illegal profits.

According to investigators, the platform functioned as an escrow-style marketplace for personal data and digital assets, verifying sellers, guaranteeing transactions and resolving disputes between buyers and sellers.

Authorities say the operation not only violated citizens' privacy rights but also supplied data used in online fraud, identity theft, fake account creation and other forms of cybercrime.

Investigators have already identified at least one case in which an account purchased through the platform was later used to commit fraud, highlighting how the illegal trade in personal data had become part of a broader cybercrime ecosystem.

Police described the case as particularly serious, noting that the network operated for several years while relying on overseas technical infrastructure to conceal its activities and complicate investigative efforts.

According to the Hanoi Police Department, dismantling the operation helps cut off a major source of data exploited in cybercrime, strengthens protection of citizens' privacy and safeguards Vietnam's national data security.

Tien Dung