'Largest Ever' Operation Organization Exposed
21 Members Arrested and Prosecuted
Disguised in Gwanak-gu and Geumcheon-gu Areas
1694 Modified Relay Devices Seized
Prosecutors have uncovered the largest-ever voice phishing caller ID spoofing relay device operation organization composed of multinational foreigners from China, Thailand, South Africa, Haiti, and other countries.
On-site photo of a voice phishing relay station. [Photo by Joint Government Investigation Team on Voice Phishing Crimes]
On the 20th, the Voice Phishing Crime Government Joint Investigation Team (led by Kim Soo-min) announced that they arrested and indicted a total of 21 people, including senior-level personnel such as allowance payment managers, parts storage managers, and currency exchange managers. Caller ID spoofing relay devices are devices equipped with multiple SIM cards that can manipulate the phone number displayed on mobile phone calls. They are mainly used by voice phishing organizations to disguise calls from overseas as if they originated domestically.
The joint investigation team revealed the existence of a relay device operation organization that operated based in Yanji, China, and defrauded approximately 5.4 billion KRW from 170 victims through a voice phishing call center organization. This was achieved through tracking accounts used in the crimes, forensic analysis of mobile phones, on-site investigations in one-room apartment areas, analysis of immigration data, and cooperation with the National Intelligence Service.
From May last year to March this year, they operated within a voice phishing organization created by a Chinese (Joseonjok) leader known as "Gold," dividing roles such as relay device managers and currency exchange managers. Initially, they recruited Joseonjok members, but when that proved difficult, they gathered illegal foreign residents by advertising "accommodation provided" and "high allowances" in English, Thai, and other languages on social networking services (SNS). It was found that participants received weekly allowances ranging from 500,000 to 1,000,000 KRW.
The joint investigation team uncovered 11 relay stations disguised as ordinary one-room apartments in the Gwanak-gu and Geumcheon-gu areas, 4 parts storage locations, and seized 1,694 caller ID spoofing relay devices (784 lines), 8,083 mobile phone SIM cards, 443 mobile phones, 121 PCs, and 193 routers on-site. Furthermore, through analysis of testimonies from organization members and forensic analysis of the relay devices, they identified the leader and senior-level members based in China, whom even the organization members did not know, and are currently tracking them through close international cooperation.
Voice Phishing Organization Structure. [Photo by Joint Government Investigation Team on Voice Phishing Crimes]
Since July 29, 2022, the joint investigation team has booked a total of 433 people and detained 150. As a result, the amount of damage caused by voice phishing in 2022 was 543.8 billion KRW, a 30% decrease compared to the previous year. Last year's damage amount was 447.2 billion KRW, an 18% reduction from the previous year.
The joint investigation team stated, "We will continue to strictly punish voice phishing crimes and actively respond to new methods, while also devising various prevention and publicity measures to do our best to protect the public from voice phishing crimes."
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