(HVTC) – Fraudsters no longer need ropes or physical force. With just a few video calls, they have manipulated numerous victims into locking themselves in hotel rooms and urging their families to transfer ransom money. The Academy of Finance warns students about this sophisticated scam to raise awareness and vigilance.
It all starts with a scripted scenario where the scammers impersonate police officers and intimidate victims by claiming they are involved in criminal activity.
Modus operandi: video calls showing victims images of “criminals” involved in drug trafficking/money laundering…
Currently, many victims—mainly students from various provinces and cities across the country—have fallen into the trap of scam calls made by criminals impersonating police officers or investigative authorities. Their tactic is to intimidate victims by claiming they are involved in fraud rings, money laundering, or drug trafficking… They then instruct victims to download an app to submit information and demand that money be transferred to a designated account to “prove” the legitimacy of their assets, while warning them to keep all information confidential—or risk arrest.
A representative from Department 5, the Cybersecurity and High-Tech Crime Prevention Bureau under the Ministry of Public Security, stated that most of these scam groups operate from countries neighboring Vietnam. They obtain the victim’s personal information and conduct scam calls based on pre-written scripts. Typically, their script includes a group of about three people acting as “three ranks of police.” The first person plays a district or provincial police officer who calls to threaten the victim, using psychological manipulation like requiring immediate update of ID cards or announcing an ongoing criminal investigation. At the beginning of the call, they introduce themselves as police officers and read out the victim’s full name, citizen ID number, and home address. Then, another member takes over, posing as an “investigator,” and guides the victim over the phone, sending a link instructing the victim to download an application for data verification.
In reality, this app contains malicious code. Once downloaded, the scam group can remotely take full control of the victim’s phone. While the “investigator” continues manipulating the victim through conversation, another member seated at a nearby computer operates the victim’s phone to access their banking applications.
Image of a scammer impersonating a police officer calling citizens to carry out fraud.
At the stage where biometric authentication is required to transfer money, the “investigator” speaking with the victim will come up with various reasons to persuade the victim to turn on their video during the call. Once the camera is activated, the scam group immediately captures the victim’s facial image to authorize a full withdrawal from their bank account. If the camera is not turned on, they can only extract an amount under 10 million VND, as transfers below that threshold do not require biometric verification.
Additionally, the scam group often targets Android phone users. For iPhone users (iOS software), they are unable to take control of the phone. In such cases, the scammers use the excuse that the app is not supported and then withdraw from the attempt.
In reality, police agencies do not conduct investigations or procedures over the phone. Therefore, citizens must remain vigilant when receiving calls from unfamiliar numbers. In administrative or criminal cases, the police will send an official invitation, subpoena, or assign local officers to directly invite individuals to the police station for working sessions.
If someone calls claiming to be a “police officer” and instructs you to install an app or transfer money to a bank account for self-bail or document processing fees, it should be immediately recognized as a scam.
To protect personal information, the police recommend that people do not share personal details on social media, avoid logging into social media accounts on unofficial websites or apps, and refrain from downloading apps via links sent by strangers. Users should never log in or read out OTP authentication codes to strangers.
Next comes the script where the victim is manipulated into self-isolation.
More cunning and deceitful, the scammers go so far as to inform and threaten victims that they are being hunted by members of a criminal gang. To stay “safe,” the victims are instructed by the fake “police” to follow strict orders: remove their SIM card, delete all apps like Zalo and Messenger, avoid contacting family, relatives, or friends, and maintain communication only via Zoom with the scammers while hiding in a hotel. Once the scammers gain control of the victim’s accounts, they then contact the victim’s family to stage the next part of the drama — claiming their child has been kidnapped and demanding hundreds of millions of VND in ransom. In many cases, the victim themselves is manipulated into asking their family to transfer the ransom money.
According to Ho Chi Minh City Police, the targets of these cybercriminals are students, young people, or individuals with little life experience. From the very first call, the scammers use intimidation and psychological pressure, accusing the victim of involvement in a criminal case (typically drug trafficking or money laundering). They continuously exert psychological pressure, threatening arrest if the victim refuses to cooperate. This leads the victim to self-isolate, rent a hotel room, and avoid all contact — including calls from their own family.
Once the scammers have complete remote control over the victim, they instruct them to transfer money to “resolve the case” or “verify accounts” to prove their innocence. Based on the collected information, when contacting the victim’s relatives, the scammers use the real-name bank account of the “kidnapped” person to increase credibility and pressure the family into transferring money.
According to statistics from the National Cybersecurity Association (NCA), in 2024, Vietnamese citizens lost up to 18.9 trillion VND due to online scams and cyberattacks. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Public Security reported that in 2023, online scam-related losses reached approximately 10 trillion VND — a 50% increase from 2022. These are alarmingly high figures, indicating that online fraud is becoming increasingly widespread and sophisticated, especially affecting vulnerable groups such as the elderly, students, and the gullible.
Important precautions to avoid online scams and kidnapping
Department of Political and Student Affairs (General Affairs)
