[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The National Police Agency's National Investigation Headquarters announced on the 17th that it has focused on cracking down on cyber fraud and cyber financial crimes over the past eight months from March to last month, arresting 25,616 suspects, of whom 1,391 were detained.
By crime type, suspects involved in cyber fraud related to direct transactions, shopping malls, and games accounted for 21,464 individuals (1,099 detained), representing 83.8% of the total arrests. Cyber financial crimes, commonly known as 'messenger phishing' or 'body cam phishing,' resulted in 4,152 arrests (292 detained). Compared to the same period last year, the number of arrests increased by 17.0% (15.5% for cyber fraud, 25.8% for cyber financial crimes), and detentions rose by 50.3% (44.7% for cyber fraud, 75.9% for cyber financial crimes).
The police explained that this achievement was due to the use of the Cyber Crime Reporting System (ECRM), which enabled rapid consolidation of multiple victim cases using the same account during the early stages of investigation. During the focused crackdown period, 11,196 cases were consolidated through ECRM. Additionally, large-scale multi-victim cases were transferred to metropolitan and provincial police agencies for concentrated investigation, and efforts were focused on organized unit investigations targeting ringleaders, which also contributed to the increase in arrests and detentions.
It was also identified that crimes are becoming increasingly organized and causing multiple and large-scale damages, indicating a trend toward more malicious methods. A National Police Agency official urged, "Since prevention is the most important aspect of cyber fraud and cyber financial crimes, please use the 'CyberCop' app to familiarize yourself with preventive measures."
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