Europeans charged with bank card fraud in Vietnam

By Xuan Ngoc November 1, 2016 | 12:46 am PT

Joel David Richards from the UK (L) and Rudy Manoel Daas from the Netherlands arrested for stealing money from Vietnam's ATMs. Photo courtesy of Khanh Hoa Province Police

They stole account information from bank customers in France, Germany and the U.S.

Prosecutors in the central province of Khanh Hoa have charged two men from the Netherlands and the U.K. for using credit cards with stolen account details to withdraw cash in the resort beach town of Nha Trang.

Joel David Richards, 25, from the U.K., and Rudy Manoel Daas, 32, from the Netherlands, were charged with abusing digital utilities to appropriate property on Tuesday.

The duo used fake credit cards with stolen account information their overseas accomplices had provided to withdraw money from local ATMs.

Police in Nha Trang arrested them in December last year after being tipped off by local banks.

They admitted having stolen more than VND500 million ($22,400) in Nha Trang. They said they also withdrew money from other places in Vietnam including Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City and Hue. They used account information stolen from France, Germany and the U.S.

Police seized 41 ATM cards, electronic equipment used to make counterfeit cards and VND200 million ($9,025) from their hotel rooms in Nha Trang and Da Nang.

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