Vietnam police bust Cambodia-based cyber scam ring stealing $5.3mn from Vietnamese victims

The investigative police agency under the provincial Public Security Department on Monday announced the prosecution of 26 suspects, including 26-year-old local resident Ho Manh Linh — the alleged ringleader — on charges of cyber fraud.

Among these, some have been arrested and temporarily detained, while others have surrendered to police and been released on bail, according to the Ministry of Public Security’s website.

Preliminary investigations found that Linh and his accomplices had established a company called Villa Group, headquartered at the Shanghai Resort area in Bavet City, Svay Rieng Province, Cambodia, to carry out online scams.

The group recruited hundreds of employees who used fake accounts on Facebook, Zalo, and Telegram daily to advertise, befriend, and lure Vietnamese citizens across Vietnam into investing or betting on online platforms such as Viva779.com, Thabet868.com, Vegas379.com, and Kukbet79.com.

Initially, the group allowed participants to win and successfully withdraw funds to gain their trust.

Later, when players deposited more money hoping for bigger winnings, the scammers deliberately caused system errors, citing reasons such as “VIP account not verified,” “incorrect reference code,” or “blacklisted” to block them from withdrawing funds.

Victims were then forced to pay an additional 10–20 percent of the amount they wished to withdraw.

As a result, victims kept depositing funds but were ultimately unable to retrieve either their initial stakes or winnings.

All proceeds were transferred to the ring’s core operators led by Linh.

Investigators confirmed that from October 2024 until the ring was busted, it defrauded Vietnamese victims nationwide of more than VND140 billion (over US$5.3 million).

Provincial police are expanding the investigation and have urged anyone involved in the scam ring’s operations to surrender promptly to receive leniency under the law.