[Reporter’s Notebook] There Are No ‘People’ in the Online World

Photo by Lee Isul

“Even my mom was fooled.” Famous actor Mr. A sighed as he spoke to reporters. He said that fake advertisements impersonating him have surged on YouTube and Instagram. He expressed frustration, saying, “If I report and get 5 removed, 50 more appear.”

Investigations revealed that the ‘celebrity impersonation phishing crime’ was more serious than expected. Platform operators blatantly allowed ‘false advertisements’ to be posted. These fake ad videos garnered nearly 500,000 views. Most victims who were deceived into investing said, “We believed that YouTube would only allow trustworthy ads.” However, YouTube did not scrutinize ads as strictly as TV or outdoor advertisements, which require proof and thorough review.

This was not a matter of ignorance. Even university professors, police officers, and financial workers fell victim. It gave an impression similar to the early days of ‘voice phishing.’ Some phishing criminals were based in China, Incheon, and Bucheon. They cunningly ‘gaslighted’ victims and even arranged loans for low-income people without money. Last year, phishing criminals tested the waters with small-scale frauds, but this year they expanded their operations. In the past two months alone, the amount lost exceeds 110 billion won, yet no institution or platform has established a dedicated task force. Since these cases are classified as illegal activities related to ‘investment reading rooms,’ it is difficult to implement urgent withdrawal suspension measures like those used for ‘voice phishing,’ making it impossible to recover the lost funds.

When asked about countermeasures, domestic and international platform operators only repeated that they had ‘worked hard.’ Institutions were busy hesitating and delaying responses. One source vented frustration: “Many victims give up after going in circles. There is a lot to do, like tracking IP addresses and shutting down illegal exchange sites, but they are doing nothing. They accept money and post phishing impersonator ads, leave criminal sites unattended, cannot grasp the crime situation, have no investigative departments, and cannot recover victims’ money. Victims are left in a blind spot.”

There are no ‘people’ online. There are only ‘accounts.’ Accounts and people are different. Deleting accounts alone does not catch the perpetrators. This is why online crime is so frightening. In the ‘lawless’ online world, these crimes will evolve more terrifyingly and rapidly.