A provincial police force from Vietnam has arrested five individuals connected to an elaborate crypto scam network led by off-shore bad actors.

On Oct. 4, police from Nghe An, a Vietnamese province bordering Laos and the Gulf of Tonkin, dismantled a Laos-based scam ring linked to fraudulent wire transfers. The ring of scammers was led by off-shore individuals who specialized in conducting pig butchering and cryptocurrency investment scams.

The Nghe An police apprehended two Vietnamese suspects after confirming, through an investigation, direct links to the crypto scams.

Vietnam police bust crypto scam ring linked to offshore actors image 0

Members of the Vietnamese crypto scam ring. Source: Thanh Nien

According to the police report, one of the scammers visited Laos in September 2023 to join the scam ring. In February, they created Facebook accounts to coerce victims into romance and investment scams. 

Orchestrating fraudulent crypto investment schemes

The scammer, who posed as a woman, gained the trust of a man from Ho Chi Minh City. The victim was eventually deceived into investing huge sums of money in “Biconomynft,” which promised exorbitant returns. Over several months, the scammer stole more than 17.6 billion Vietnamese dong ($700,000) from the victim.

Related: CFTC partners up to warn on crypto pig butchering scams

The accomplice was also charged with a similar offense. Following a wider investigation, the police arrested three more individuals of similar age brackets linked to the crime ring.

Initially, the scammers gain the trust of their victims by releasing some of their invested funds as profits. Once the victims have invested a significant amount, the scammers lock the accounts and freeze the funds from withdrawals.

Crypto scams beyond borders

Recently, South Korean and Vietnamese authorities teamed up to bust a different Vietnam-based scam ring that was responsible for stealing over 10 billion won ($7.5 million). 

According to a local report, the criminal ring defrauded 230 victims by contacting them through various mediums, such as wedding invitations, funeral announcements, parcel delivery notifications and impersonating family members on text messages.

After analyzing 300,000 suspicious transactions, police arrested 86 individuals in Korea and overseas in connection with the crypto phishing operation.


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