Three Egyptians Arrested for Building Rapport via Chat and Collecting 650 Million Won from 12 People by Asking for Money

Gyeongbuk Provincial Police Agency.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Koo Dae-sun] Four foreigners involved in so-called 'romance scams,' who extorted money after building rapport through chatting, have been arrested.

The Gyeongbuk Provincial Police Agency announced on the 29th that they arrested four foreigners who impersonated foreign soldiers, doctors, and businessmen working overseas through chatting on SNS, built rapport, and swindled money under various pretexts such as customs clearance fees. Among them, three were detained on charges of fraud and violation of the Electronic Financial Transactions Act.

Four foreigners of Egyptian nationality, including Mr. A (27) living in Ulsan City, are accused of approaching 12 victims over 17 months from August 2020 to last January, communicating through chatting, and swindling a total of 650 million KRW under various pretexts.

According to the police, in March 2021, they built rapport over about a month through chatting with Ms. B (27), deceiving her by saying, "I am Els living in the UK, and I am about to open a jewelry store in Korea. I will send money as cargo, so please keep it and lend me 5 million KRW for customs clearance fees first," and received money into their account.

They are also accused of approaching Ms. C (61) and deceiving her multiple times by saying things like, "I work at the NASA space station. I need to return to Earth urgently to receive oxygen supply, so I need money," and swindling 360 million KRW.

Among the 12 victims who sent money to them, eight are male and four are female.

The police believe there may be more victims who sent money after being deceived by Mr. A and his group, and they are investigating additional crimes while expanding the investigation into their upper organization.

A police official said, "Besides customs clearance fees and NASA, the methods of romance scams are very diverse, including investment solicitations through virtual asset trading platforms. If foreigners you do not know well approach you on SNS and send friend requests, you should be cautious and not easily trust various certificates, profile photos, and career information sent while soliciting investments."

'Romance scam' is a compound word of 'romance,' meaning dating, and 'scam,' meaning credit fraud. It refers to a fraud method where scammers express affection through SNS, build trust, and then demand money.