Hanoi man searching for female escorts on Telegram scammed out of $135,000

According to a police report, the man living in Ha Dong District accessed Telegram on April 29 to view explicit content and then became curious about female escort services.

He then joined a group purportedly of call girls, and was told to deposit money to activate a membership card and earn commissions.

Based on the instructions, the man transferred over VND3.5 billion but was unable to withdraw any of the promised commissions.

When told he needed to complete more tasks to withdraw money, he realized he had been scammed and reported to the police.

The police have urged the public not to engage in illicit activities, forums or groups related to explicit content on the internet.

When dealing with financial issues with strangers, people should avoid paying any money online or participate in financial transactions of unclear provenance, they warned.

This is especially true in case of promises of high returns or attractive investment opportunities, they said.

People should only transfer money when they are certain about the recipient's identity and avoid sending money to strangers, even if they claim to be working with the police, prosecutor's office, courts, or banks, they warned further.

If sent suspicious links, individuals should absolutely refrain from clicking on them or installing any apps from unknown sources, they added.