The city police said Friday they had dismantled fraud networks operating under the guise of 11 travel companies and described it as an “organized criminal enterprise.”
They have launched criminal cases for fraud and asset appropriation primarily against so-called company directors and employees involved in the scam.
Colonel Nguyen Tien Dat, head of the criminal police division under the HCMC Police Department. Photo by Read/Quoc Thang |
Colonel Nguyen Tien Dat, head of the criminal police division under the HCMC Police Department, said: “Victims were persuaded that instead of depositing money in banks, they could purchase these contracts and earn profits by reselling them, with promises of doubling or even multiplying their returns.”
Police have seized 5,563 contracts, he said.
One of the victims, the worst affected, was conned out of VND8.5 billion through 42 contracts, he said.
Police raid multiple companies and arrest nearly 200 people in a holiday membership scam. Video by police
Colonel Ngo Thuan Lang, head of the economic police division, said most of the accused are young, some of them recent university graduates.
“Lured by high salaries and short-term benefits,” they worked for the criminals, he claimed.
Four-step scam operation
Investigators said the fraud involved a sophisticated four-step process targeting mainly middle-aged and elderly people with savings or seeking passive income opportunities.
To build credibility, they rented upscale office spaces and established seemingly legitimate corporate structures, complete with management teams, legal departments, telesales staff, and customer service personnel.
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Suspects in a holiday membership scam. Photo by police |
Using personal data sold illegally, the employees made mass phone calls inviting potential victims to attend promotional events, offering free three-day, two-night resort vacations and gifts.
At the events, the sales staff aggressively marketed vacation packages costing VND30-420 million, promising attractive returns, even doubling of the money within three months, guaranteed buybacks, and assistance in reselling.
Once victims showed interest, they were pressured into signing pre-prepared contracts containing numerous clauses heavily favoring the companies. If customers lacked sufficient funds, staff allegedly instructed them to borrow money through credit cards.
Similar crackdown in Hanoi
The Hanoi police have also recently filed cases against 27 companies accused of using similar tactics.
They said the companies signed 17,000 vacation ownership contracts and defrauded victims, mostly elderly people, out of VND2.7 trillion.
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Police raid a company linked to a holiday vacation scam. Photo by police |
Some 200 people have been charged with fraud and asset appropriation, and two are also being investigated for money laundering.
The police raided 196 offices and residences linked to the companies, and seized cash and other assets worth VND680 billion.
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