2 foreigners jailed for up to 13 years for credit card fraud in Vietnam

The Da Nang People's Court on Tuesday sentenced Lim Jian Wing, a Malaysian national, to 13 years in prison, while Wang Rui Jie, a Chinese national, received seven years.

Both were found guilty of using computer networks, telecommunications, and electronic means to misappropriate property through stolen Vietnamese credit card information.

Investigators said the pair purchased multiple iPhones from several stores in Da Nang using the stolen card details last year.

The court found that Lim accessed 14 credit card accounts to misappropriate VND685.9 million ($26,050), while Wang siphoned funds from five accounts worth over VND218 million ($8,280), bringing their total illegal gains to $34,330.

According to the indictment, on July 24, 2024, Lim and Wang visited an FPT shop on Ly Thuong Kiet Street, where they bought two iPhone 15 Pro Max devices, paying more than VND69.9 million ($2,660) via Samsung Pay.

Store staff, suspicious of the two foreigners' behavior during the transaction, alerted police, leading to their arrest.

Investigations revealed that Lim had met an individual named Yue Na Zhi Fu via Telegram while living in Malaysia and received data stolen from Vietnamese credit card accounts.

Since the stolen card data could not be used for cash withdrawals but allowed purchases, the group devised a scheme to buy phones and laptops and resell them for cash.

Lim entered Vietnam with Wang and later recruited Pan Jin and Lam Van Quang, a Vietnamese translator, to carry out the fraudulent transactions.

The group used Samsung Pay and OPPO Pay, linked to stolen credit account information on point-of-sale devices, to make the purchases.

Under the arrangement, Lim earned VND1–1.5 million ($38–57) per phone, while the remaining funds were transferred to Yue Na Zhi Fu via USDT transactions.

On June 17, 2024, Lim and Pan visited an FPT shop on Ngo Quyen Street to buy an iPhone 15, paying roughly VND21.9 million ($833) via Samsung Pay linked to a credit account.

The following day, they purchased an iPhone 15 Pro at a Dien May Xanh store on Vo Van Kiet Street for nearly VND25.6 million, also via Samsung Pay linked to a Vietcombank credit account.

Wang and Quang later bought two iPhones at the same store for over VND59.7 million ($2,270) and another at a shop on Ngo Quyen Street for more than VND29.6 million ($1,125), using the same method.

In another case on July 20, 2024, Lim, Pan, and an accomplice purchased four iPhones at a store on Nguyen Van Linh Street, paying nearly VND108 million ($4,105) via Apple Pay linked to a VIB credit account.