Chinese-led group poses as Shopee, swindles $215,200 from victims

Doan Tran Le Hoang, 22, Vu Van Khoi, 28, Le Van Thanh, 26, Nong Van Hung, 17, Nguyen Anh Hao, 21 and Phan Tri Dat, 26 were arrested by police of Hoan Kiem District on Friday to be investigated for “obtaining property by fraud.”

The group masqueraded as Singapore online shopping platform Shopee, and hired collaborators through social media. They requested the collaborators to pay for products and then refund them the original price, plus 10 percent. They then looked for excuses to not pay the money, asking collaborators to keep buying and refunding things to gain back the money they’d lost.

Police said the group was led by a Chinese native and headquartered in Cambodia’s Krong Bavet, bordering Vietnam’s Tay Ninh Province.

Within the first two months of 2022, around 40 people had been tricked by the group, costing them around VND5 billion.

Shopee was the most popular e-commerce site in Vietnam in 2021, receiving around 71.5 million visits each month.