Police to Conduct Special Crackdown on '4 Major Crime Tools' Including Ghost Accounts and Ghost Phones Until June

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] The police are launching a large-scale crackdown on criminal tools used in 'voice phishing,' such as fake bank accounts and fake phones.

The National Police Agency's National Investigation Headquarters announced on the 20th that it will conduct a special crackdown on the "four major criminal tools" widely used in crimes such as telecommunication financial fraud until June 21.

The "four major criminal tools" are ▲fake bank accounts ▲fake phones ▲phone number spoofing relay devices ▲illegal currency exchange activities, all of which are essential tools used in the structure of telecommunication financial fraud crimes. The phone number spoofing relay device, which is not well known to the public, is a device that converts internet phone signals (such as 070) originating from overseas into domestic mobile phone numbers (010).

The police stated that since the creation and distribution of these four major criminal tools are themselves subject to criminal punishment and are also misused in crimes other than telecommunication financial fraud, a crackdown is necessary. In particular, since cracking down on even one of these tools makes telecommunication financial fraud crimes difficult to commit, it is expected to prevent additional criminal damage and secure clues to track down masterminds and higher-ups.

The police plan to carry out a strong crackdown to eradicate the creation and distribution of criminal tools, focusing on specialized investigative personnel such as the Financial Crime Investigation Unit and Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Investigation Unit of each provincial police agency, as well as intelligence teams at police stations. For large-scale and organized crimes detected, they will apply the 'crime syndicate organization offense' to ensure stronger punishment, and will actively request seizure and confiscation preservation before prosecution.

A National Police Agency official urged special caution, saying, "Cash collection activities disguised as high-income part-time jobs or quick loans, opening fake phones and fake bank accounts and lending names, and illegal relay device installation are criminal acts that can result not only in criminal punishment but also in civil liability for damages."