Vietnam police bust $532,000 crypto scam imitating Nasdaq

By Ngoc Truong January 17, 2026 | 07:35 pm PT

Police in Da Nang have arrested seven individuals involved in a Cambodia-based cryptocurrency scam that allegedly imitated the Nasdaq exchange to misappropriate VND14 billion (US$532,800).

They were arrested for using computer networks, telecommunications networks, and electronic means to appropriate property, police said on Saturday.

They include Nguyen Van Chung, 31, Nguyen Duc Long, 26, Ong Khac Minh, 26, Ta Van Ba, 37, Cao Ba Nam Viet, 35, Vu Tri Huy, 31, and Nguyen Anh Do, 27, all residents of the northern province of Bac Ninh.

Investigators uncovered the case after a 36-year-old woman in Da Nang's An Khe Ward, along with several others, reported being scammed while investing in cryptocurrency on a trading platform that calls itself Nasdaq.

Nasdaq is the world's second-largest stock exchange, based in the U.S., and is known for listing tech giants like Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Meta and Tesla.

The arrested individuals at the police station. Photo courtesy of the police

Arrested individuals at a police station in Da Nang for involving in a crypto scam. Photo courtesy of the police

Preliminary investigation found that in early 2024, Chung went to Cambodia and colluded with a Chinese national named A Long to organize a scam operation based in the Kim Sa 3 area of the Cambodian border city of Bavet.

They recruited Vietnamese nationals, who were assigned roles in an organized manner, and set up the fake Nasdaq website.

They used Zalo and Telegram groups with dozens of accounts to fake trading activity, reported false profits and impersonated investment experts to lure victims into investing their money.

After the funds were misappropriated, the money was routed through multiple bank accounts and then converted into cryptocurrency to conceal its origin.

Early findings indicate that the group has swindled people out of VND14 billion, with two victims losing more than VND1.1 billion.

During a raid, police seized a large amount of evidence, including USB drives containing fraud scripts, mobile phones, tablets, laptops, more than VND5.2 billion in cash, bank notes of various foreign currencies, dozens of gold-colored metal rings, six land title deeds and relevant electronic data.

Investigation into the scam is ongoing.

Da Nang police warned the public to remain vigilant against online investment offers promising "high returns, low risk" on social media, avoid transferring money to unlicensed websites or applications and promptly report any suspicious signs to authorities.