Regarding the widely circulated clip of a woman holding a child and crying for help, on February 13, the District 1 Police (Ho Chi Minh City) reported that they had taken Ms. Hồ Thị Xuân (born in 1987, from Lâm Đồng Province) to the police station for questioning to clarify the incident.
Heartbreaking Clips That Aren’t Real
The police confirmed that the clip, filmed by Ms. Xuân while crying with the child in her arms at the Nhi Đồng 2 Hospital, claiming she was pickpocketed and lost 9.5 million VND, was false information.
Specifically, after reviewing surveillance footage, authorities found no evidence of her interacting or speaking with anyone during her time at the hospital, contrary to what was posted on social media.
During questioning, Ms. Xuân admitted that she hadn’t been pickpocketed but had “accidentally” lost the money herself.
This case once again highlights the risk of scams targeting public hospitals, where many patients face serious conditions and financial hardships.
In an interview with Dân Trí, Master Lê Minh Hiển, Head of Social Work at Chợ Rẫy Hospital, said his team occasionally discovers fake social media posts about fictitious patients supposedly treated at their facility—or patients who were discharged long ago.
Fraudsters often use real patient names and pair them with images of severe illnesses, exaggerating poverty and hardship to gain sympathy and donations from the public, funneling funds into their own accounts.
Upon receiving such reports, Chợ Rẫy’s Social Work Department cross-checks internal records to verify if the patient exists. They then issue warnings about these fraudulent cases.
For instance, in October 2024, a viral video showed an elderly woman sitting near Gate 1 of Chợ Rẫy Hospital, crying and claiming her son was in a vegetative state due to a severe accident—but no such patient existed in the hospital’s records.
“After reviewing the clip, our Social Work Department collaborated with security teams and checked internal systems, confirming no such case existed,” Mr. Hiển explained. He urged the public to verify such claims through the hospital before donating.
Posing as Doctors and Faking Hospital Documents for Money
In late January, the Ho Chi Minh City Orthopedic and Rehabilitation Hospital issued a warning about scammers posing as doctors to solicit funds for a fabricated story of a patient “abandoned after a severe neck injury.”
Representatives from the Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital also reported cases of exploiting deceased or discharged pediatric cancer patients to solicit funds. Some families even refused to leave the hospital after treatment ended, continuing to beg for donations.
The hospital advises donors to contact its Social Work Department to verify patient cases before contributing. Unauthorized photography or filming within hospital wards is discouraged without consent.
A representative from the Ho Chi Minh City Blood Transfusion and Hematology Hospital shared similar concerns about fake patient stories being used to solicit funds.
At Nhi Đồng 1 Hospital, scammers were caught forging hospital admission papers with fake seals and signatures to deceive donors.
Nhi Đồng 1 Hospital urges the public to call their hotline (+84 909 124 004) to confirm patient admissions and receive guidance on legitimate ways to assist, avoiding becoming victims of fraud.
