Vietnamese police have arrested five men, including three foreigners, for their alleged involvement in producing counterfeit credit cards, using the stolen data to withdraw money.

According to the police in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho, the group used the trick to steal up to VND1.5 billion (USD68,181) from many ATM owners who are from Can Tho City and Ben Tre and Vinh Long provinces.

The arrested group

Two Vietnamese Tran The Bao, 26, in Ben Tre Province and Nguyen Kim Soan, 21, were detained on March 5. The police also confiscated an ATM skimmer, a motorbike and three ATM cards from them.

At the police station, Bao and Soan said that through Facebook, they were acquainted with Chong Ngai Fong, 45, of Malaysian nationality and several other foreigners.

Chong instructed Bao and Soan to install ATM skimmers at ATMs and use the stolen data to produce counterfeit credit cards for money withdraw.

Since January, they have stolen VND1.5 billion from 76 ATM accounts in Can Tho, Ben Tre and Vinh Long.

The police have also arrested Chong and two other foreigners in the ring namely Chua Ya Thiam of Singaporean nationality and David Tee Cheng Meng of Malaysian nationality.

The police have continued investigating the case.