7,168 Mobile Gift Certificates Exchanged for Paper Vouchers
Over 2.8 Billion Won Illegally Funneled Overseas
A group that stole tens of billions of won worth of mobile gift certificates, converted them into cash, and funneled the money overseas has been apprehended by police.
On May 7, the Cyber Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced that it had arrested 19 individuals?including exchangers, collectors, and remitters?on charges of violating the Information and Communications Network Act and committing computer fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, among other offenses, for stealing and cashing out mobile gift certificates.
Among them, three exchangers, two collectors, and one remitter were detained and referred for prosecution due to concerns over flight risk and destruction of evidence. The remaining 12 were handed over to the prosecution without detention. One individual, currently incarcerated for a separate offense, is being investigated by police without detention. In addition, Interpol red notices have been issued for two Chinese brothers who acted as the overseas ringleader and collector.
According to police, the group is suspected of converting illegally obtained mobile gift certificates into cash and siphoning off approximately 2.8 billion won. On August 17 and 18 of last year, exchangers converted 7,168 out of 7,687 stolen mobile gift certificates?worth about 2.8672 billion won?into paper gift certificates at 22 major supermarkets nationwide. Collectors then cashed out the paper certificates received via quick delivery or in person, and remitters sent the funds overseas.
The group exploited the fact that knowing only the PIN number allowed them to exchange mobile gift certificates for paper ones. Police believe the overseas ringleader accessed the administrator account of a mobile coupon vendor through hacking and placed orders for mobile gift certificates. After the ringleader sent the PIN numbers to the exchangers via Telegram, the exchangers converted them into paper gift certificates worth at least 20 million won and up to 450 million won per person.
The overseas ringleader recruited members through advertisements for "high-paying gift certificate exchange part-time jobs," and the exchangers, collectors, and remitters were reportedly strangers to one another. To prevent collectors or other upper-level members from absconding with large amounts of gift certificates, the ringleader staffed these roles with family members or acquaintances. In fact, the two collectors who were detained and referred for prosecution were revealed to be Chinese nationals who attended elementary school with the ringleader.
A police official stated, "High-paying gift certificate exchange part-time jobs advertised on social media (SNS) are highly likely to be linked to criminal activity, so people should exercise extreme caution," adding, "We will implement crime prevention measures, such as requesting that warning notices be posted at each major supermarket branch to alert people that gift certificate exchange part-time jobs may be used for criminal purposes."
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