Female Mastermind Behind USD 40 Million Fraud In Vietnam Arrested

Authorities disclosed that 26-year-old Pham Thi Huyen Trang played a vital role—she was tasked with devising intricate deception strategies that preyed on people's most profound fears, including identity fraud, school enrolments, and government processes.

Pham Thi Huyen Trang

Eva Yinuo, Scamstyle.com A Vietnamese woman has been unmasked as a key mastermind in a massive VND1 trillion (USD40 million) scam network.

Pham Thi Huyen Trang, 26, in fluent Chinese, operated out of Cambodia and played a senior managerial role, training scammers, designing highly manipulative scripts, and coaching lower-ranking members to pose as police, tax officials and other authorities to steal money from thousands of Vietnamese victims.

The Bac Ninh police recently cracked down on this sophisticated online fraud network, arresting nearly 60 individuals involved in orchestrating one of the most organised scam operations Vietnam has seen.

Trang was one of the five main ringleaders, alongside Nguyen Van Manh from Quang Ninh, Do Van Nghia from Bac Giang, Dinh Nhu Quynh from Phu Tho and Nguyen Duc Toan from Hai Phong.

Authorities revealed that Trang’s role was critical – she was responsible for crafting elaborate deception tactics that exploited people’s deepest fears, such as identity fraud, school enrolments and government procedures.

Speaking to the VTV, Trang said: “Everyone has a weakness. Parents worry about their children. Business owners worry about paperwork. We knew exactly how to get into their heads.”

This advanced fraud syndicate, located in Svay Rieng, Cambodia, operated through a structured three-tier system, internally referred to as Cao 1, Cao 2, and Cao 3.

Cao 1 impersonated local police, tax officers, or education officials, contacting victims to convince them that their information required urgent updates.

Cao 2 enticed victims to download counterfeit government apps that covertly provided the scammers with remote access to their phones.

Cao 3 emptied bank accounts by remotely accessing victims’ phones and deceiving them into authorizing transactions via facial recognition or fingerprint authentication.

Nationwide, over 13,000 victims were defrauded, with more than 300 individuals in Bac Ninh alone losing over VND31 billion (US$1.24 million).

Trang’s prominent role within the organization secured her an astonishing salary of VND200 million (US$8,000) per month, an amount that surprised investigators given her youth.

The intricate network was dismantled when police initiated a significant crackdown, deploying 43 task forces at border checkpoints and airports.

As the scammers attempted to return home for Tet, believing they had evaded justice, they were apprehended the moment they disembarked at Noi Bai Airport.

To date, police have identified 42 individuals for prosecution, with 38 already detained. Authorities are now broadening the case to encompass money laundering, illegal migration, and international fraud charges.

This case serves as a warning to Vietnamese citizens about the increasing sophistication of online fraud. The police urge the public to be wary of unsolicited calls from “officials” and to avoid installing unknown apps on their devices.

As investigations proceed, more arrests are anticipated – and justice for thousands of victims may finally be achieved.