"Random Chat Sexual Crime, 'I Will Inform Those Around' Sudden KakaoTalk Message"

[While You Were Careless] Part 1. New Type of Smishing Accusation for Sexual Crimes

Threatening with False Sexual Crime Allegations via KakaoTalk
Victim Cases Flood Online Communities
"I Know What You Did on Random Chat" Phrase Repeated

Crimes Presumed Based on Stolen Personal Information
Police: "Strict and Steady Response to Various Smishing Crimes"

[Asia Economy Reporters Seungyoon Song and Jeongyun Lee] Office worker A, living in Seoul, recently experienced a bizarre incident. Suddenly, they received a KakaoTalk message from an unknown person saying, "I know you are still doing pathetic things on random chat." The sender abruptly threatened A, saying, "I will hold you accountable for approaching someone else's family under the wrongful act of being a secret sexual partner," and added, "I will send a certified letter to your family and workplace and inform acquaintances about (the sexual crime)."

Although A explained, "I have never used random chat and don't understand what you are talking about," it was to no avail. The unknown sender pressured A, saying, "Go to the local police station and turn yourself in by today." Noticing that the sender’s profile image was an orange globe, indicating a subscriber with an overseas number, A found it suspicious and stopped the conversation, blocking the sender. A said, "At first, I thought they mistook me for someone else and hurried to explain," adding, "Only after searching for similar cases online did I realize it was a new type of smishing scam."

Smishing (phishing via text messages) crimes using social media and messenger apps are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Recently, a new method has emerged where perpetrators threaten to reveal alleged sexual crimes that the victim did not commit in order to extort money. They threaten to inform the victim’s family or girlfriend by claiming they know about attempts to engage in sexual conversations through random chat. Although similar in form to the relatively traditional ‘bodycam phishing,’ this method differs in that it fabricates false facts to threaten victims. Because the threats include specific fabricated examples, recipients are naturally confused, especially those who have used random chat before.

Conversation content posted by victims of a new type of smishing scam using sexual crimes as leverage. Photo by Online Community Capture

This type of smishing scam has been rampant since last year. Many posts on online communities and portal sites ask how to respond after receiving KakaoTalk messages like those received by A. While the specific content varies slightly depending on the recipient, the overall message is identical down to every word. There are indications that the perpetrators have prior knowledge of personal information such as the recipient’s address or phone number.

There have been cases where victims ignored such messages, only to suffer embarrassment when the sender actually spread false information labeling them as sexual offenders to people around them. Some victims report that after threatening to inform acquaintances or file complaints, the perpetrators eventually demanded money. However, no confirmed cases of actual financial loss through remittance have been reported yet.

Phishing criminals appear to steal some personal information of their targets and use it as a basis for their crimes. Most contacts come from overseas accounts on messenger apps like KakaoTalk or LINE. It is also possible that they verify additional information such as workplace details and names through online searches or messenger platforms based on the stolen personal data.

A National Police Agency official stated, "As far as we know, there have been no reports or ongoing investigations related to this matter yet," but added, "The police are continuously responding to various smishing crimes and will strictly handle cases through investigations in the future."