Vietnam police have dismantled a massive online gambling and fraud ring. Authorities arrested 35 people accused of stealing $350 million from victims.
According to police in Hung Yen province, the raids took place on December 31. Officers targeted five northern municipalities, including the capital, Hanoi.
How the Scam Worked
Police stated that the suspects used advanced technology to conduct fraud and online gambling. The group’s method was simple but effective:
- They used social media to advertise goods for sale.
- Once victims transferred money, the gang failed to deliver the items.
- Finally, they deleted their profiles to vanish.
To avoid detection, the criminals transferred the stolen money into online gambling accounts.
During the operation, police confiscated five cars and 42 mobile phones. Additionally, they froze 125 accounts across 16 different banks.
A Regional Crisis
This is not an isolated incident. In mid-December, police from Lang Son province arrested 22 Vietnamese suspects in Cambodia. In that joint operation, scammers defrauded 3,000 victims out of $285 million.
According to police data released late last year, Vietnamese victims have lost a staggering $1.5 billion in over 24,000 online fraud cases since 2020.
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime notes that criminal gangs across Southeast Asia are increasingly using casinos, hotels, and fortified compounds as bases. Specifically, Cambodia hosts dozens of scam centers. These operations involve tens of thousands of people in a multibillion-dollar illicit industry.
