Setting up a fake company to appropriate money of real companies

(PLO)- A person has set up a company impersonating the same name as another company in order to deceive the partner into transferring money to his/her account.

Currently, the procedure for obtaining a business license is relatively simple, and anyone wishing to set up a business only needs to spend approximately 2-3 million VND to become a business owner.

Taking advantage of a loophole in the law, there have indeed been cases where fake companies have been established with the intention of fraudulently obtaining money from other companies.

1. Get money from real companies’ partners

For the past few months, Ms. LND, the CEO of LC Company in Ho Chi Minh City, has been increasingly frustrated and angry due to another individual setting up a company with a name almost identical to hers company, differing by only one letter (temporarily referred to as Company C).

To make matters worse, the person behind Company C created an email address similar to that of Ms. LND's company. Subsequently, Company C sent an email to inform Ms. LND's business partner in the US about a change in the trading account number.

Ms. LND mentioned that on December 8, 2022, her company received a notification from the partner stating that the debt had been successfully settled with her company.

According to Ms. D, the partner company stated that they had transferred money to her company twice. The first transfer amounted to 91,800 USD (equivalent to over 2 billion VND), while the second transfer exceeded 178,200 USD (equivalent to over 3 billion VND). However, in reality, Ms. D's company did not receive any amounts.

"After learning about the incident, I conducted online research to learn more about the company impersonating mine. Mr. P is the individual linked with this firm, and Ms. T owns the phone number used for company registration. I set up an in-person appointment with Ms. T using this phone number. When I met with Ms. T on December 16, 2022, she said that she was simply recruited to obey the directions of a foreigner named Brian." revealed Ms. D.

Ms. D further reported that during their conversation, Ms. T acknowledged to removing the initial transfer amount and giving it to a someone called Tu, who was later confirmed to be a Brian employee.

Unfortunately, the money withdrawn could not be retrieved at the time. The second transfer amount was held in Ms. T's account. Ms. T then began the proper steps to restore the monies to Ms. D's partner company.

"Through the above incident, I don't understand why Ms. T was able to open a company and register a business so easily," Ms. D stated. “When I first started my own business, it was exceedingly difficult to register the company name. The simplicity with which a business may be registered may serve as a breeding ground for fraud, as proven by my firm being impersonated."

2. Borrowing the ID of nephew to set up a company

After receiving Ms. D's complaint, the reporter visited Ms. T's house on April 7 to investigate the incident.

Ms. T identified herself as an accountant and mentioned that she had previously registered for different companies without encountering any issues and had received payment for her services.

Believing it to be a regular job, Ms. T accepted an offer from a foreigner to establish a company for a package fee of 20 million dongs. To proceed with the task, she used her nephew's ID card to register the company under the name of Company C, where she took on the role of chief accountant.

According to Ms. T, she was instructed to work online, and the company asked her to find an address in District 7 to register as the office location. Ms. T arranged to rent an office using a friend's address and put up a signboard for Company C.

Ms. T clarified that she did not personally submit the application for business registration; instead, she hired a service provider to handle the process. The service provider only required her to provide the ID card of the person establishing Company C. Besides, she mentioned that the service provider did not ask the founder to sign any documents. The price of the service varied depending on the duration required.

For a certificate obtained within a week, the cost was around 1.5 million VND. However, for those who wanted a faster turnaround time of 2-3 days, the price increased to about 4 million VND. In total, Ms. T paid approximately 5 million VND for the company registration service and the business registration certificate.

Furthermore, Ms. T shared that after Ms. D informed her about the incident, she contacted her employer to request the return of the amount received from Ms. D's partner company. Unfortunately, her employer did not respond to her communication attempts.

"Because I believed the person involved wanted to conduct legitimate business, I asked a family member to register Company C in my name, even using my personal phone number." However, when I learned how much money was at stake, I began to have reservations. They informed me that it had to do with commodities trades. I would never have agreed to it if I had known the truth. Now I'm in a terrible condition of despair and perplexity. My family is oblivious of the issue, and I'm at a loss on what to do next." stated Ms. T.

The "stork" service: To become a director, obtain an ID card and mail it to Zalo.

On April 12, the reporter went to the Business Registration Office of Ho Chi Minh City's Department of Planning and Investment on Tran Quoc Toan Street in District 3 to register the business registration certificate.

People come here to submit procedures at the reception desks. Staff get instructions and papers in accordance with the process.

There was a table outside the reception area where individuals could give their information. We met a woman called L and indicated our desire to start a business, but we were uncertain about the procedures and needed documentation.

Ms. L instructs: If you want to apply, dial the number to meet the specialist inside for guidance. If you want to do the service, give it to her.

Ms. L said that if you want to register a business, you only need to record information such as company name, address, industry, and the person acting as the company's representative. Then, just take a photo of the ID card and send it to Zalo.

“The cost of applying for a certificate is 2 million VND, it takes about a week to obtain it. In addition, the person opening the company must buy a digital signature, a three-year fee of 2.5 million VND; 300-digit e-invoice for 800,000 VND…” - Ms. L informed.

When we said there is no address in HCMC. Ms. L said she would help find a place to rent with a company sign.

Immediately, Ms. L called a person and the other end informed that there was a place in Go Vap district for rent for 600,000 VND/month.

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