Over the past few months, an increasing number of Vietnamese have fallen victim to transnational fraud rings, but what makes the situation even more distressing is that many of these scams are orchestrated by fellow Vietnamese, who lure their own countrymen into deceptive job offers promising high salaries and easy work abroad.

The Criminal Police Department under the Ministry of Public Security has been cracking down on cross-border fraud networks that use telecommunications and computer systems to steal money from victims.

In January, police uncovered a Vietnamese-run scam operation in Cambodia that targeted job seekers. A month later, police in Bac Ninh Province, northern Vietnam dismantled another fraud ring based in Cambodia, which had defrauded nearly VND1,000 billion ($39.1 million) from more than 13,000 victims across Vietnam.

Many of the scam operations relied on a workforce of Vietnamese nationals who were lured abroad with promises of lucrative, easy jobs. 

Upon arrival, they were sold into fraudulent companies and forced to participate in illegal activities.

Investigators found that Chinese-led criminal organizations in some Southeast Asian special economic zones and casino hubs had set up fraud call centers run by Vietnamese workers. 

These ‘employees’ were provided computers and phones and trained with pre-written scripts to deceive fellow Vietnamese into financial scams.

Each fraud team was given strict quotas, expected to steal between VND1.5 billion ($58,680) and VND3 billion ($117,360) per month. 

Individual workers were pressured to scam at least VND100 million ($3,910) per month. Those who failed faced brutal violence.  

To recruit new workers, fraudsters established fake job placement agencies, using online advertisements to attract job seekers willing to work in Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand. 

Once recruited, victims were illegally smuggled into Cambodia through unofficial border crossings.

Employees who failed to meet fraud quotas were not only physically punished but also sold to human trafficking rings. In some cases, victims were forced to call their families for ransom payments, but many were never released even after money was paid. 

Authorities have ramped up investigations into these criminal networks. The Criminal Police Department, in coordination with Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security representative office and Cambodian law enforcement, has been tracking Vietnamese workers inside fraud centers in Bavet City, Svay Rieng Province.

The joint operations have resulted in the arrest of several key figures in the fraud rings and the rescue of hundreds of Vietnamese victims, bringing them back home.

Senior Colonel Le Khac Son, deputy head of the Criminal Police Department, said that the police will intensify efforts to dismantle transnational fraud rings, working closely with international law enforcement agencies to capture and prosecute Vietnamese individuals involved in these criminal organizations.

He also warned citizens to be cautious of online job offers. Scammers, he said, often impersonate government officials or romantic partners to lure victims into fake investment schemes or online gambling, leading to fraud and financial loss.

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