Renowned Vietnamese artist NSND Minh Châu has opened up about her distressing experience with a vacation contract scam that has recently captured public attention. This scandal has led to the prosecution of 194 individuals, including high-ranking officials from various fraudulent companies.

According to the police in Hanoi, many of the accused are charged with fraud, having embezzled over 2.7 trillion VND (approximately 115 million USD) from unsuspecting victims. The scam primarily targeted elderly individuals, luring them with promises of luxurious vacations and high returns on investment through vacation contracts.

NSND Minh Châu shared that she fell victim to this scheme three times, spending hundreds of millions of VND in hopes of securing memorable family vacations. "I was convinced by the sweet talk of sales representatives, who promised lavish holidays. I didn't realize I was being deceived until it was too late," she recounted.

After realizing the extent of her losses, Minh Châu sought legal counsel and reported the incident to the authorities. "I thought I was simply swiping my card for a legitimate purchase, but they were using my card without my consent to finalize the vacation contract. I felt like I was robbed," she explained, describing the shock of receiving notifications of unauthorized charges exceeding 100 million VND.

In addition to Minh Châu, other victims include Xuân Anh, a television editor whose father was also duped into purchasing a vacation contract worth several hundred million VND. He was misled into taking out a bank loan against his pension to pay for the contract, which ultimately led to significant debt.

Hà Anh, a well-known supermodel, also revealed that her mother fell prey to the same scam, having been convinced to invest in vacation contracts that promised high returns. After losing nearly 700 million VND, Hà Anh has taken steps to report the fraud to the police in hopes of finding justice for her mother and other victims.

This growing scandal highlights the urgent need for awareness and caution among consumers, particularly the elderly, who are often targeted by such deceptive practices. As more details emerge, the community is coming together to support the victims and seek justice against the perpetrators of this widespread fraud.