A state-run Vietnamese mobile phone network operator has emptied the account balances of many subscribers in Da Nang, claiming it is because these accounts were refilled with stolen prepaid cards.

On July 25, an unidentified street vendor sold a number of VND100,000 Vinaphone prepaid cards at below market price in Lien Chieu and Cam Le Districts.

A Vinaphone subscriber poses for a photograph with the reportedly stolen prepaid cards she bought from a waste collector in Da Nang  on July 30, 2014.

The seller attracted many customers, some of whom even bought them in large quantities to resell.

But a couple of days later, these subscribers were shocked to see their accounts had been emptied.

Le Thi Lan, based in Lien Chieu District, said she bought 30 cards for VND1.5 million (US$71), only half the market rate, from the street vendor, and charged the cards into her and her husband’s mobile phone accounts on July 25.

Finding that these cards were indeed valid, Lan bought another 10 cards. The cautious subscriber even contacted Vinaphone, a state-owned firm, one day later to check if the cards were authentic, and eventually received confirmation from the network operator.

But on July 27, to her astonishment, Lan discovered that both of the accounts had been set to zero.

Huynh Quang, another Lien Chieu resident, also bought 12 of the cards at VND600,000 ($28). Quang used ten cards for his account and two for his son’s. The accounts were successfully refilled.

But a day later, his account was emptied.

“I have no idea why Vinaphone deducted the money that existed in my account before I used the new cards,” he said.

“It’s disrespectful of Vinaphone to empty subscriber accounts without any notice or explanation.”

Lan, the subscriber from Lien Chieu District, said she contacted Vinaphone and was told that the serial numbers of her prepaid cards “are among those that were stolen so they have been invalidated.”

‘Stolen’ cards

Those whose Vinaphone accounts were emptied reported the incident to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Wednesday, complaining that Vinaphone’s handling of the case is unfair and unacceptable.

The victims said they bought the cheap cards from a waste collector, who reportedly came across two batches of the Vinaphone cards at the Khanh Son landfill in Lien Chieu District.

A representative of the Telecom Service Center Zone III (VNP3) told Tuoi Tre on Wednesday that all of the prepaid cards at the landfill had been stolen from Vinaphone.

“But I could not say when and where the theft took place, or how many cards were stolen,” he said, saying the case is under police investigation.

The official said affected customers could file their complaints to the VNP3.

“Those who lost money in the incident should wait until investigators release their conclusion,” he said.

But when asked when the investigation will be finished, the VNP3 official said bluntly, “I don’t know.”

(Source: tuoitrenews.vn)