7,200 people in Ho Chi Minh City have same ID card numbers

A survey by the city police revealed that the coincidence started in 2007 and resulted from mistakes by the local police departments that issued the cards.

A woman named TTTN, 60, in Phu Nhuan District discovered that the serial number on her ID card is the same as that of a man in District 11 when she applied for a passport.

She said she had to contact the police department of administrative management (PC64) in the city to verify that the information on her ID card matches her personal files kept in the archives of local police.

She had to wait for months and contact police officers many times to obtain their verification before being able to get the passport.

“I am still worried and wonder if I will face any more troubles in the future when I apply for other documents,” she said.

“I have only one ID card number despite being re-granted it several times for expiry and loss,” she said.

Meanwhile, BNT, who has the same ID card number as the above-mentioned woman, said he was never informed of the coincidence when he opened his bank account and applied for a passport.

This is because BNT used the services before the woman did.

In another case, CVS, 58, in Binh Thanh District, and NHH, 58, in District 3 now have ID cards with the same number.

S said he only knew of the trouble when he opened a bank account at the East Asia Bank in 2012.

The bank provided a solution for settling the issue by adding an “A” behind his number in their archives and opened a bank account for him.

In the meantime, NHH visited the Ho Chi Minh City taxman to be given his tax code, and the trouble began.

The tax body decided to add “HCM” after his ID card number.

Both of the men, CVS and NHH, said they were granted ID cards between 1976 and 1977 when they were students at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology.

Captain Vo Tri Thanh, vice chief of PC64, admitted it is a mistake by local police departments to grant the same number to different people.

“On discovering the coincidence, people can visit PC64 and other police departments to seek guidance,” Captain Thanh said.

“Those who have a number which matches the one kept in our archives will be given a confirmation and can continue using the number.

“For other cases, ID card owners will be granted a new card with a different number.

“We are sorry for making this mistake.”