Vietnam Is Having New Scams Which Put Travellers At Risk

Thursday, August 7, 2025

Author: TTW News Desk

Vietnamese authorities are raising superior concerns astir a increasing activity of online scams that person taken an alarming move successful caller months. These scams, known arsenic “virtual kidnappings,” are progressively targeting susceptible individuals, peculiarly students surviving acold from home. Criminals person adopted progressively blase tactics, impersonating constabulary officers aliases prosecutors, and utilizing fear, pressure, and isolation to manipulate victims and their families.

The scam follows a distressing pattern: a victim, often a assemblage student, is contacted by fraudsters posing arsenic rule enforcement officials. These scammers impeach nan unfortunate of being progressive successful a crime, specified arsenic money laundering, and past coerce them into cooperating. During this process, nan unfortunate is isolated, often successful a edifice room, while scammers simultaneously interaction their family, demanding a ransom to guarantee nan safe merchandise of nan victim.

On July 27, a heart-stopping lawsuit was reported successful Hanoi’s Ba Dinh Ward erstwhile a begetter reached retired to section constabulary aft receiving a distressing connection claiming that his university-age boy had been kidnapped. The criminals demanded a ransom of 250 cardinal dong (approximately $12,250). Within hours of nan first report, Hanoi’s criminal police, successful collaboration pinch section authorities, managed to find nan student successful a adjacent hotel. The young man explained that he had been contacted by personification pretending to beryllium an investigator, accusing him of engagement successful a money laundering scheme.

Following nan instructions of nan clone investigator, nan student installed a Zoom-based app, believing this to beryllium portion of a ineligible interrogation procedure. Under aggravated unit and fear, nan student past sent a distress connection to his parents, fearing for his safety.

A Growing Threat to Students and Their Families

The disturbing emergence successful these virtual kidnapping scams has not been confined to a azygous area. On August 2, a akin incident took spot successful Ho Chi Minh City. An 18-year-old student was lured into a edifice room, wherever he was pressured to inquire his mother for 600 cardinal dong, claiming that it was basal for his study overseas application. Local authorities acted swiftly and were capable to rescue him that aforesaid night.

Another case, occurring connected nan aforesaid day, progressive a third-year student who was reported missing from her dormitory successful Ho Chi Minh City. The scammers had demanded 600 cardinal dong from her family. Fortunately, nan student was located successful a edifice aft she had already transferred 129 cardinal dong. These swift interventions underscore nan urgent request for consciousness and vigilance successful nan conflict against this disturbing shape of cybercrime.

More troubling still, connected August 5, a precocious schoolhouse student from Ho Chi Minh City was coerced into walking 350 kilometers to Dak Lak Province, wherever he was held successful isolation astatine a motel. Manipulated via calls and Zoom, nan student transferred astir 80 cardinal dong to nan scammers. Fortunately, section authorities recovered and rescued him early nan adjacent morning.

Despite nan expanding consciousness surrounding these scams, galore victims admitted that they had encountered akin warnings earlier but still fell prey to nan fraudsters. The operation of fear, isolation, and aggravated unit made it difficult for them to admit nan scam successful nan moment.

Manipulative Tactics: Emotional Language and Fake Identities

The occurrence of these scams mostly relies connected nan affectional manipulation of victims and their families. Scammers often cod publically disposable accusation astir their targets—especially students who are surviving distant from home—and create clone societal media profiles utilizing their photos and details. They past scope retired to nan victim’s family aliases friends pinch urgent, affectional messages, specified arsenic “I’ve been kidnapped abroad,” aliases “If I inquire for money, I’m being forced.”

To further intensify nan affectional distress, they employment connection designed to manipulate nan victim’s loved ones, specified arsenic “Mom, please help!” aliases “Are you online, Mom?” These messages are designed to elicit an immediate, affectional consequence that overrides captious thinking. Tragically, this leads galore family members to transportation ample sums of money without verifying nan situation, assuming it is simply a existent emergency.

Authorities Respond to nan Growing Threat

Vietnamese authorities person been moving tirelessly to reside nan emergence successful online kidnapping scams. From August 2 to 5, constabulary successful Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Dak Lak successfully resolved astatine slightest 5 specified cases. Authorities tracked and rescued students successful various locations, including Ho Chi Minh City, wherever a student had been lured into a edifice room and demanded a ransom.

Despite nan police’s speedy response, nan affectional and financial toll connected victims and their families is immense. Many victims admit they were alert of specified scams but still succumbed to nan fearfulness and unit created by nan scammers. This highlights nan request for greater consciousness and prevention strategies to protect young people, peculiarly students, from becoming victims of specified crimes.

The Role of Social Media successful Facilitating Scams

A concerning facet of these scams is nan domiciled societal media plays successful facilitating them. Journalist Hoang Anh Tu, a erstwhile caput of nan Sinh Vien-Hoa Học Tro newspaper, has pointed retired nan alarming gaps successful family relationships that are contributing to nan emergence of these scams. In today’s integer age, societal media platforms person go an easy accessible outlet for young people, allowing them to prosecute pinch strangers and confide successful them much freely than they would pinch their families.

Hoang emphasizes that young group often consciousness much comfortable sharing their thoughts and feelings pinch strangers online, particularly successful nan absence of unfastened connection pinch their parents. The barriers that beryllium betwixt parents and children, owed to engaged schedules aliases a deficiency of knowing of teenage psychology, only exacerbate nan problem.

He suggests that 1 measurement to reside this rumor is by incorporating integer literacy into schoolhouse curricula. He believes it’s important to thatch young group really to place imaginable scams, really to admit erstwhile they’re being manipulated online, and really to protect themselves from integer threats. This could see applicable lessons, specified arsenic really to measure whether a alien is attempting to scam aliases manipulate them and what actions to return if they consciousness threatened online.

Building Trust and Strengthening Family Bonds

Hoang’s proposal besides extends to parents, urging them to foster a much open, supportive narration pinch their children, particularly successful today’s integer age. Rather than resorting to bans connected telephone usage aliases societal media, Hoang recommends that parents prosecute pinch their children’s online lives successful a much meaningful way. Instead of judging aliases forbidding societal media usage, parents could inquire their children questions astir their online activities, specified arsenic what benignant of contented they consume, what makes them happy aliases sad, and whether they’ve encountered thing unsettling online.

Building spot and being a reliable affectional support for children is nan astir effective measurement to shield them from cybercrime. Hoang emphasizes nan value of calm and measured responses to immoderate concerns, advising parents not to unreserved aliases respond hastily. It’s basal to create an situation wherever children consciousness safe to definitive their emotions, without fearfulness of judgment. In doing so, they will consciousness much comfortable sharing their experiences and whitethorn moreover supply valuable insights that tin protect them from early threats.

A Call for Greater Awareness and Digital Safety

As Vietnam grapples pinch nan emergence of online kidnapping scams, authorities, parents, and schools must activity together to protect susceptible young people. The expanding sophistication of these scams, mixed pinch affectional manipulation and isolation, makes it much important than ever to foster greater consciousness and integer information practices.

In conclusion, while nan emergence successful virtual kidnapping scams represents a disturbing trend, it besides serves arsenic a important reminder of nan request for much effective connection wrong families and stronger acquisition connected integer safety. By moving together, we tin thief shield young group from nan dangers of online manipulation and supply them pinch nan devices they request to enactment safe successful nan integer age.