Preventing and stopping "black credit" crimes

Many cases that have been busted and prosecuted recently show that "black credit" activities are increasingly sophisticated, causing serious consequences for people's lives.

According to the Provincial Police, in the first 6 months of 2025, the authorities discovered and dismantled many projects related to "black credit" activities, prosecuted 11 cases with 15 defendants, the amount of illegal profits seized was estimated at about 2.5 billion VND, with an interest rate of 54-56%/year.

Typically, in June 2025, the Criminal Police Department of the Provincial Police prosecuted 5 subjects for the act of "Lending money at high interest rates in civil transactions" in the form of mortgaging iCloud accounts of mobile phones, carried out on cyberspace. This group of subjects carried out more than 9,000 loan-sharking transactions with thousands of victims across many provinces and cities across the country. Initially, the authorities determined that the amount of illegal profits was up to over 5 billion VND, corresponding to an "exorbitant" interest rate of up to 30%/month. Notably, there was a case where the subject was a bank employee who directly committed the crime (subject Nguyen Thu Hoai, an employee of the Transaction Office of the Cam Pha Social Policy Bank, had repeatedly lent money at an interest rate of 109.5%/year, illegally earning more than 315 million VND).

Previously, in September 2024, in Mong Cai, Nguyen Van Duc was discovered to have lent money to many individuals at an interest rate of nearly 200%/year. This subject's actions caused many people to fall into misery, risk of bankruptcy, and cause disorder and insecurity. The case was strictly handled, creating a clear deterrent effect.

The Criminal Police Department works with Bai Chay Ward Police to grasp the security and order situation. Photo: Thanh Trung (Criminal Police Department, Provincial Police)

According to the authorities, loan sharks are increasingly using new tricks to control borrowers. In addition to hiding under the guise of pawnshops or financial companies, they also take advantage of high technology. Some cases show that the lenders asked the borrowers to mortgage their iPhone iCloud accounts, thereby taking control of the phone and contacting relatives to pressure them to collect the debt.

The consequences of "black credit" are not only a financial burden for victims, but also entail many other social consequences such as conflicts, violence, threats to life, and loss of security and order in the locality. Faced with this situation, the Provincial Police have proactively advised the Provincial People's Committee to synchronously deploy many solutions: Launch a peak period of attack and suppression of "black credit" crimes, prosecute and quickly handle cases to deter; apply modern technology in investigation and detection of crimes, especially in cyberspace; strengthen state management of pawnshop, financial, residential and foreign service businesses; coordinate with departments, branches and organizations to both fight and support people in accessing legal loans...

Officers of Cam Pha Social Policy Bank conduct transactions in Hai Hoa commune. Photo: Cao Quynh

The province also clearly identified that the work of preventing and combating "black credit" does not only rely on the police force, but also requires the participation of the entire political system. Accordingly, it is necessary to continue promoting propaganda in many visual, accessible forms, suitable for each target group; departments and branches coordinate with units to effectively implement mechanisms and policies on social security, hunger eradication and poverty reduction, job creation for workers, in order to limit subjects taking advantage of unemployed workers, without income to lend at high interest rates, commit illegal acts; at the same time, mobilize people to actively participate in local crime prevention zalo groups, denounce criminals...

“Black credit” is a dangerous trap, with interest rates many times higher than the law, potentially causing unpredictable consequences, a threat to social life, causing a vicious cycle of debt and leading to many other social evils. To repel this type of crime, in addition to the proactiveness of the authorities, each citizen needs to raise their vigilance, equip themselves with legal knowledge, identify and stay alert to the “trap” of black credit, not only to protect their own legitimate rights, but also to contribute to maintaining security and order in the area.

Tran Thanh

Source: https://baoquangninh.vn/phong-ngua-ngan-chan-toi-pham-tin-dung-den-3375267.html