20 Chinese arrested by Saigon police for telephone scam

Officers raided a house on Vo Van Hat Street in District 9 and seized 26 tablets, 46 mobile phones, six laptops, and three devices that were emitting sounds to make the place appear like a police station along with 200 documents related to the disguisement as police.  

The gang rented the house, installed sound-proofing equipment and randomly called numbers, pretending to be police officers and instructing victims to transfer money to local bank accounts.

Initial investigations found that they called the victims home in China and disguised as police officers, accusing them of being involved in drug smuggling or money laundering and demand money which they would promise to return if the victims were cleared of the charges.

The suspects admitted the crime at a local police station. The police are expanding the investigation.  

The city police have repeatedly warned about Chinese groups colluding with locals and scamming people by pretending to be police officers, but many people have still fallen prey.