"Phone Broken" ... Jinju Police in Gyeongnam Arrest Suspect of Messenger Phishing Impersonating Child

Messenger phishing message received by an actual reporter. / Photo by Se-ryeong Lee ryeong@

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Seryeong] The Jinju Police Station in Gyeongnam announced on the 16th that they have apprehended a suspect who committed messenger phishing crimes with a headquarters in Thailand.

Messenger phishing is a fraud method where the perpetrator impersonates family or acquaintances through text messages or mobile phone messengers, sending urgent messages asking for help to steal personal information and then extort money.

They also lure victims by sending internet addresses under the pretext of COVID-19 related disaster relief payments, stealing personal information or installing malicious programs and then demanding money.

According to the Jinju Police Station, the arrested suspect A conspired with unidentified members of a telecommunications financial fraud organization based in Thailand to commit so-called messenger phishing crimes, laundering money by converting it into gold using other people's accounts, and then cashing it out to deliver to the mastermind.

They mainly targeted people aged 50 to 60 and above, approaching them via Ka○○○ messenger pretending to be their children to extract personal information.

They demanded information by saying, "My phone is broken, so I can't make calls. To receive phone compensation, I need your ID, account number, and password," and after receiving the information, sent a 'link (internet address)' claiming it was for phone compensation.

When the victim clicked the link, a remote control program like TeamViewer was installed, and using the previously obtained financial information, the perpetrator accessed internet banking under the victim's name.

Afterwards, money was transferred from the victim's account to the account of a gold seller, a bona fide used goods trader, then 39 don of gold was received and cashed at another gold shop, and this was sent to the foreign mastermind, constituting the charge of fraudulently taking the money.

A police official stated that after receiving the damage report on April 6, they conducted tracking investigations including telecommunications investigation, search and seizure, card investigation, CCTV footage analysis, inquiries, tracking, and surveillance, leading to the arrest of the suspect on the 9th and detention on the 11th of the same month.

They explained that under Article 15-2, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 2 of the Special Act on the Prevention of Telecommunications Financial Fraud and Refund of Damages, the suspect is expected to face imprisonment of up to 10 years or a fine of up to 100 million won.

An official said, "Messenger phishing is a malicious crime that impersonates victims' children and exploits parents' feelings," and urged, "Please actively report to help catch the criminal organizations."

Messenger Phishing Response Manual.