Police stop Vietnamese woman from losing $50,000 to ‘US General’ romance scam

A 60-year-old woman in southern Dong Nai Province was stopped from transferring VND1.3 billion (US$49,400) to scammers who had posed as a U.S. Army general and built an online romantic relationship with her.

Police in Trang Bom Ward said they intervened on Thursday after bank staff noticed suspicious signs while helping the woman with the transaction and alerted authorities.

Investigators found she had been targeted by a scam ring using fake social media accounts. One fraudster presented himself as a polite, successful U.S. Army general stationed overseas and gradually won the woman’s trust.

He later claimed he would send her foreign currency and valuable gifts, but said she had to pay advance fees supposedly required by the "United Nations" before the package could enter Vietnam.

Believing the story, the woman went to a bank to transfer VND1.3 billion to an account controlled by the scammers.

Lieutenant Colonel Trinh Anh Dung, head of the local police, personally persuaded her to stop the transfer. After police and bank employees explained the warning signs of romance scams, she realized she had been deceived and canceled the transaction just before the money was sent.