On 19/9, Dong Nai police reunited an 18-year-old university student from Ho Chi Minh City with his family in Long Binh ward after a dramatic rescue. Investigators are continuing to interview those involved to clarify how the victim fell prey to an online kidnapping scheme orchestrated by a high-tech criminal group.

Police rescuing the victim (in shorts) at night. Photo: Thai Ha

Police rescuing the victim (in shorts) at night. Photo: Thai Ha

Two days earlier, the Dong Nai Police Department's Criminal Investigation Division received a report from a woman stating her son had been abducted and was being held by strangers who demanded a 200 million VND ransom. The family was unable to contact the student.

Quickly gathering information, police located the victim in a taxi heading towards the Moc Bai border crossing. Assessing the student's potential danger, detectives coordinated with Ho Chi Minh City and Tay Ninh police to intercept and pursue the taxi overnight.

By 11 PM, police rescued the distraught student. He then revealed he had fallen victim to an online kidnapping scam.

He explained that on the afternoon of 16/9, he received a call from a woman claiming to be a delivery driver, asking to connect on Zalo. Shortly after, he received a Zalo video call from someone claiming to be a police officer who had just arrested the delivery driver. The “officer” said the driver had confessed to drug trafficking and money laundering with the student. The "investigator" demanded the student’s cooperation and secrecy, threatening imprisonment if he informed anyone.

Investigators determined that, following the fake police officers' instructions, the student booked a hotel room, confined himself, and installed the Zoom app. He was then psychologically manipulated and controlled through staged scenes of a police interrogation room, designed to intimidate him into sharing his Facebook and Zalo accounts. The criminals then used these accounts to contact his family, demanding the 200 million VND ransom and threatening to take him across the border and sell him if they didn't comply.

When the criminals realized the family wasn't cooperating (as the mother had reported the incident to the police), they instructed the victim to take a taxi towards the Moc Bai border crossing to "work with the Cambodian police," promising transport to identify suspects.

Online kidnappings have been occurring frequently across the country. Criminal gangs operating from abroad impersonate legal authorities to frighten victims into providing their social media accounts, which are then used to extort money from families. Police departments in various provinces have repeatedly warned the public, especially young people, to be vigilant and aware of these high-tech scams.

Reunited with their son, the family expressed their gratitude to the Dong Nai Police Department's Criminal Investigation Division. "I don't know what to say. If it weren't for your swift action, my son might have been in grave danger," the victim’s mother said.

Phuoc Tuan