Vietnamese woman loses nearly $20,000 to online fruit export investment scam

A woman in Vietnam's Vĩnh Long province has lost a significant sum of money, nearly half a billion Vietnamese dong (approximately $19,500), after being deceived by an online investment scam. The fraudulent scheme centered around fake "fruit export" and "agricultural product investment" opportunities advertised on social media.

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Through Facebook social media, Ms. N.T.N.K. (29 years old, residing in Loc Thuan commune, Vinh Long province) learned about a website advertising fruit export investment with attractive content such as high profits from 6-12% per export shipment, fast capital recovery time, and the ability to withdraw money immediately after completing the investment.

The victim, identified as N.T.N.K., a 29-year-old resident, was initially drawn in by promises of high returns, reportedly ranging from 6-12% per export shipment, coupled with quick capital recovery. To build trust, the scammers guided her through initial small investments. A trial investment of 2 million Vietnamese dong yielded a return of 2.16 million dong, and a subsequent investment of 5 million dong resulted in a payout of 5.4 million dong, reinforcing her belief in the scheme's legitimacy.

Encouraged by these early successes, the victim continued to invest larger sums. However, when she attempted to withdraw her funds after a third investment, the system became unresponsive. The scammers then fabricated reasons for the delay, claiming she needed to complete a specific number of investment cycles before accessing her principal and profits.

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Initially, to build trust, the subjects guided Ms. K. to participate in trial investments with an amount of 2 million VND. After a short time, she received back the full principal and interest of 2.16 million VND transferred to her bank account.

Further pressuring her, the fraudsters instructed her to join a Messenger group chat. This group, allegedly populated by fake customer service representatives, distributors, and investors, was designed to create a false sense of security and community. Within this chat, the scammers invented various fees, such as VAT, settlement deposits, account verification charges, and document completion fees, demanding more money from the victim. Each time, they promised immediate withdrawal of all invested capital and profits upon payment.

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Believing this was a real investment activity with high profits, Ms. K. continued to transfer money to participate in subsequent 'export orders'. However, on the third investment, when performing the withdrawal operation, the system did not respond.

It was only when she could no longer contact the scammers and her money remained inaccessible that the victim realized she had been defrauded. She subsequently reported the incident to the Vĩnh Long Provincial Police's cybersecurity division, which is now investigating the case. The police are urging the public to remain vigilant against high-yield investment offers online and to avoid participating in any unofficial or unlicensed online investment platforms.

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The total amount appropriated was up to more than 438 billion VND. Only when the subjects could no longer be contacted and the invested money could not be recovered did Ms. K. realize she had been scammed and went to the police to report it.