Police bust online awards con gang that swindled $370,000
Thanh Nien News
QUANG NAM - Saturday, September 12, 2015 15:13
The Hanoi police have bust an alleged online con gang that cheated hundreds of people out of nearly US$ 370,000 since September last year.
They have summoned 11 suspects for questioning, including its leader Huynh Tan Khoa.
The gang, from the central province of Quang Nam, created 117 websites and announced that many visitors had won a lucky price of either a luxury motorbike or VND 200 million (US$ 8,900) cash.
To popularise the websites, the gang sent their addresses to thousands of internet users on social networks like Facebook, Zalo, and Viber.
The victims, who believed they had actually won a lucky price, were asked for personal information as well as an advance to pay VAT and shipping and other charges.
The money was to be sent in the form of mobile phone cards worth VND 500,000 each.
When the cards were sent, the “organizers” would disappear.
The gang sold the cards or converted them into money using digital wallets like Bao Kim and Vippay.
The latter required them to pay 18-21 percent of the cards’ value, which left the gang with a cool VND8.3 billion ($369,350).
Khoa took VND550 million ($22,250) and shared the rest between the others.
