Scammers ask Hanoi parents for money, say children hospitalized

Dao Thi Cuc, deputy headmistress of the Nguyen Truong To secondary school in Hanoi’s Dong Da District, said Tuesday the parents of a ninth grader received a call saying their child was hospitalized at the Viet Duc hospital, and that money was required for a surgery.

The caller provided the student’s name and class accurately, and so the parents called the homeroom teacher for verification. It turned out that the child was safe and in class, and so the scam failed.

The school informed all homeroom teachers about the attempt and instructed them to keep in touch with students’ parents and inform them about it.

"We also suggest parents should not share their personal information and photos of their children online," Cuc said.

The same day the parents of two students at Chu Van An high school in Tay Ho District received similar phone calls saying their children were in hospital.

The caller claimed to be a teacher from the school, but both children’s parents were able to contact the actual teachers and escaped being conned, headmistress Nguyen Thi Nhiep said.

Screenshot of a text message telling a person to "urgently" send money to a bank account. Photo by Hoang Anh Tu

The Hanoi Department of Education and Training Tuesday issued warnings about the scam, and instructed schools to inform parents about it.

In HCMC, since the beginning of this month, the parents of seven children have been relieved of a total of VND310 million ($13,148) by scammers using the same modus operandi.

The scam has also been reported in other localities like Gia Lai and Da Nang in central Vietnam.

The Ministry of Public Security is investigating the scam, deputy minister Tran Quoc To said Wednesday.