On 19/4, Da Nang City Police arrested Nguyen Duc Quyen, 25, a resident of Trung Gia commune, Ha Noi, for fraud and appropriation of property.

Nguyen Duc Quyen at the police station. Photo: Bao Nam

Investigations revealed that in early 2024, Quyen, in need of money, bought a Facebook account named "Nguyen Thuy Linh" with nearly 200,000 followers. To create a false sense of credibility, he used applications to boost engagement, such as like and comment hacks, and leveraged ChatGPT to write articles about horoscopes, fate, and love.

Quyen used images of "co dong" (spirit mediums) from the Dao Mau religion as his profile picture. He posted content offering fortune-telling and lottery numbers to entice unsuspecting individuals.

In late March, a woman from Ninh Binh, visiting Da Nang, messaged Quyen seeking advice and hoping for good fortune. Quyen instructed her to transfer 1 million VND as a "ceremony fee" to a bank account under the name Nguyen Duc Quyen.

Subsequently, Quyen asked the victim to send photos of her face and palm, then demanded an additional 3 million VND for ritual offerings. When he requested another 4-5 million VND for "lottery numbers", the woman suspected she was being scammed and reported the incident to the police.

During questioning, Quyen admitted his actions. Investigators determined that after receiving money, Quyen continued to mislead victims into using other "services" to appropriate more assets.

The investigation into the case is ongoing.

Ngoc Truong