14 arrested in $97mn Cambodia-based online scam targeting Vietnamese victims

Dong Nai police said on Friday that the network had been dismantled after five months of investigation and evidence gathering, with support from the Ministry of Public Security's Department of Cyber Security and High-tech Crime Prevention, and police in several localities.

Nguyen Thi Van, a 30-year-old woman, was identified as the ringleader who organized and directed the operation.

She was aided by two men, Nguyen Van Bao, 29, who served as her second-in-command, and Pham Van Quy, 35, who oversaw technical operations, including the management and operation of fraudulent online applications.

The three key suspects were arrested in late December 2025 during coordinated raids on facilities in Dong Nai, Tay Ninh Province, and Ho Chi Minh City.

The remaining 11 suspects were detained later at Moc Bai border gate in Tay Ninh, which borders Cambodia, and at other locations.

Investigators said the group created fake Facebook accounts posing as Vietnamese female students studying in Japan, South Korea, France, and Switzerland to approach and deceptively cultivate romantic relationships with financially well-off Vietnamese men.

After gaining their trust, the suspects lured the victims into participating in online money-making schemes that required them to complete tasks on bogus applications such as Ozon and Mercado, which were designed and operated by the ring.

The victims were instructed to open accounts, place orders, and purchase goods in exchange for commissions, with promises of higher returns for larger transactions.

Once substantial sums had been transferred, the perpetrators demanded additional payments under various pretexts, including 'withdrawing capital,' 'tax paying,' and 'verification fees.'

When the victims could no longer send money, contact was cut off and all deposited funds were appropriated, police said.

Authorities said the illicit proceeds were laundered through Chinese intermediaries in Cambodia by routing funds through multiple bank accounts before converting them into the cryptocurrency USDT to avoid detection.

Preliminary findings show the ring defrauded more than VND2.5 trillion ($96.7 million) from thousands of victims across Vietnam, including around 150 in Dong Nai alone.

During the operation, police seized 13 gold-colored rings, a white metal bracelet, a Hublot watch, more than VND700 million ($27,000) in bank accounts, 292,722 USDT ($292,722), 10 land use right certificates, a server containing website data, a desktop computer, an iPad, 15 mobile phones, a Ford Fortuner car, and a Kawasaki motorbike.

The total value of the confiscated assets was estimated at over VND50 billion ($1.93 million).

Investigators are expanding the case and seeking to apprehend another 111 suspects whose identities have been determined, according to the Voice of Vietnam.

Dong Nai police described the case as the first in Vietnam in which a Vietnamese national is alleged to have masterminded and financed a large-scale cross-border fraud operation, investing in infrastructure and operating scam facilities at multiple locations in Cambodia.

Authorities have called on those implicated in the racket to turn themselves in for leniency and urged victims to contact Dong Nai police at 0251.3685134 to assist with the ongoing investigation.