HANOI: Authorities in Hanoi have successfully rescued a female student who had been psychologically manipulated into filming a nude video under false pretences and blackmailed for money.
The victim, a 17-year-old student identified only as X., had been lured into a sophisticated online scam in which perpetrators posed as law enforcement officers.
The case came to light around 4pm on Wednesday when the victim’s father, D., 46, residing in Viet Hung Ward, received a disturbing message via Zalo from his daughter’s account.
The message demanded VND300 million (US$11,500) and included a video showing his daughter in a state of complete undress. When D. attempted to call the number, a man’s voice answered.
He eventually heard his daughter’s voice – faint and seemingly coerced – prompting him to report the incident to local police.
Upon receiving the report, Viet Hung's police quickly deployed criminal investigators and alerted Hanoii's Police Department. Within two hours, they located the victim alone in a guesthouse on Tạ Quang Buu Street, Bach Khoa Ward, Hanoi.
At the scene, police found no other individuals, and the guesthouse owner confirmed that X. had arrived alone and rented the room herself.
However, her phone was still connected to a Zoom call with a man dressed in a police uniform, who had used official-sounding terminology and displayed a police badge via camera in an attempt to reinforce the deception.
"At first, she didn’t believe we were real police officers because she had been manipulated from the beginning," said a police officer.
"Only after family members were brought in did the victim begin to realise she had been tricked."
At the police station, X. recounted the events that led to her ordeal. Two days earlier, she received a call from a man claiming to be a police officer, who falsely accused her of being linked to a money laundering operation involving her national ID.
She was told to cooperate in an investigation and, under pressure, provided access to her Facebook and Zalo accounts, which she was then instructed to delete. Communication continued exclusively via Zoom.
During a video call, a man in uniform posed as a police officer and requested personal and financial information. He ultimately instructed X. to undress on camera to 'verify' she was not hiding drugs or other incriminating evidence.
"I was told to take off all my clothes so they could check for tattoos or identifying marks related to a suspect," X. said, tearfully recounting the incident.
Authorities stressed that the victim had not been physically abducted or restrained but was completely controlled through psychological manipulation. Police called the incident a form of 'online kidnapping'.
When asked why she did not seek help from family or friends, the victim explained that she believed she was old enough to handle the situation on her own.
The case remains under investigation by Viet Hung's police and the Criminal Police Division as efforts continue to identify the individual or group behind the impersonation and blackmail.
Authorities noted that the case serves as a warning about increasingly sophisticated forms of cybercrime that rely on psychological manipulation, impersonation of officials and virtual threats. - Vietnam News
