'4.9 Billion Won in Damages' 5-Year Pursuit Ends with Arrest of 20s Voice Phishing Mastermind

Arrested After Life on the Run in China
Boasted on SNS by Posting "Gift for Parents" Photos

The ringleader of an organization based in China that extorted 4.9 billion won through telephone financial fraud (voice phishing) was arrested after five years of pursuit.

Mr. A, the mastermind of a China-based voice phishing organization, was arrested at Incheon Airport and is being transported in a police car. Provided by Gyeonggi Northern Provincial Police Agency

According to Yonhap News Agency, the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Investigation Unit 2 of the Gyeonggi Northern Provincial Police Agency announced on the 24th that a man in his 20s, identified as Mr. A, was detained and sent to prosecution on charges including fraud. Mr. A is suspected of having formed a voice phishing organization with friends and acquaintances since 2019, operating from a base in Qingdao, China, and committing fraud against victims in South Korea.

They called victims from a call center in China, deceiving them by saying, "Low-interest refinancing loans are available," and "You need to repay existing loans first, so withdraw cash and hand it over to the bank staff." They used a relay device to change the originating number from China to appear as a domestic number in South Korea.

When victims were easily deceived and handed over cash, the money was transferred to multiple bank accounts under false names, withdrawn, laundered, and then sent to China through currency exchange offices located in the Gyeonggi Province area. The total amount of money transferred by this method was investigated to be 4.9 billion won.

So far, the investigation agencies have identified about a dozen victims. Most were ordinary people in their 50s who were struggling with interest burdens after taking out loans from various financial institutions. There was even a victim in his 40s who lost 120 million won all at once after being deceived.

All 22 members of the organization led by Mr. A were arrested in 2021, but the ringleader Mr. A continued to evade capture. The police imposed administrative restrictions on his passport and issued an Interpol red notice, pursuing Mr. A for five years until recently. Even when Chinese authorities deported Mr. A at the request of Korean investigative agencies, he continued to evade capture by buying only plane tickets and pretending to leave China while actually staying.

Photos posted on SNS by Mr. A, who was living in hiding. Provided by Gyeonggi Bukbu Police Agency

Even while on the run, Mr. A lived a luxurious life overseas. On his social networking service (SNS), he posted photos of precious metals along with a message saying, "Mom, Dad, 30th wedding anniversary gift! I am far away but thinking of you!"

In mid-June, Mr. A attempted to use the same method of booking a plane ticket without actually departing in response to the Chinese authorities' deportation order, but was caught and forcibly deported. Ultimately, Mr. A was arrested at Incheon Airport on the 14th after entering South Korea. The police confiscated 140 million won in cash from Mr. A and others, and are tracking and taking measures to seize and confiscate the remaining money in their accounts.