Sophisticated scam causes traders at Dong Ba Market to lose tens of millions of dong.

(Dan Tri Newspaper) - Scammers are forging military documents, sending them to victims via Zalo to order goods, and then fraudulently appropriating their assets.

On December 5th, in an interview with Dan Tri newspaper, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Viet Hoang, Head of the Hue City Police (Thua Thien Hue province), stated that the unit had received information and launched an investigation into the case of several small traders in the area being defrauded and having their property stolen by an unknown individual.

The Hue City Police also received information from the city's military unit regarding individuals forging official government documents.

The scam messages sent by the perpetrators to Ms. A. lured the victim into their trap (Photo: Vi Thảo).

Previously, Dan Tri newspaper received reports from several small traders selling food and groceries at Dong Ba Market and Cong Market (Hue City) who were scammed out of large sums of money by a group of unknown individuals using Zalo.

Ms. LTTA, a small business owner selling imported frozen food at Dong Ba Market (Dong Ba Ward, Hue City), said that on December 1st, she received a call from someone claiming to be Bui Bao Anh via the Zalo application. This person informed her that they were working at the Hue City military agency and needed to order a large quantity of food for their unit.

The suspect also forged delivery and receipt slips, access permits, along with fake seals and signatures of military agencies and army officers, and sent them to Ms. A. via the Zalo application.

According to Ms. A., after the calls and messages, Bui Bao Anh ordered a large quantity of chicken thighs, legs, and ribs. To gain the victim's trust, the suspect used a delaying tactic, waiting for approval from his superiors.

A few minutes later, the suspect continued to text Ms. A., informing her that his superiors had agreed and scheduled the delivery for the following day. The suspect requested that Ms. A. take a photo of the vehicle and provide the name of the delivery person to create an access permit.

A corner of Dong Ba Market, Hue City (Photo: Vi Thao).

According to Ms. A., after finalizing the aforementioned order, the suspect inquired about purchasing an additional 600 boxes of chicken meat, to be delivered at 3 PM the following day. Knowing that the supplier did not have the item, the suspect took photos of the product along with a fake warehouse receipt, and sent Ms. A. the contact information and address of a supplier that could provide a large quantity.

To "win over" the victim, the perpetrator said he wanted a long-term business relationship and would offer a "reward".

Ms. A stated that on the morning of December 2nd, the suspect continued to make video calls, filming soldiers training and urging her to supply the goods.

"The callers kept saying that if I didn't hurry, the boss wouldn't approve it anymore. It was 1 PM, not yet bank working hours, so I had to rush to the ATM to add more money to my account to transfer to the supplier in time to order 600 boxes of chicken, transferring 54 million VND upfront," Ms. A said.

The scammers forged access passes to the Hue City military base and sent them to victims (Photo: Vi Thảo).

After Ms. A. transferred the money, Bui Bao Anh immediately unfriended her on Zalo, while the suppliers informed her that she had not followed the correct purchasing procedure, so the goods could not be shipped.

"I requested to cancel the order and get a refund, but they said I had to pay an additional 27 million VND to get the refund. That's when I realized I had been scammed," Ms. A said.

According to the reporter's sources, besides Ms. A., other traders at Dong Ba market were also targeted by scammers using the same tactic, but fortunately, their families discovered the deception.

In addition, a small trader at Cong Market (Xuan Phu Ward) and an agricultural product trading company in Hue City also became victims of the aforementioned scam group.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/phap-luat/chieu-lua-tinh-vi-khien-tieu-thuong-cho-dong-ba-mat-hang-chuc-trieu-dong-20241205135706176.htm