18 Members of Cambodia-Based Corporate Voice Phishing Ring Arrested and Detained

A large-scale voice phishing criminal organization based in Cambodia has had 18 members arrested and detained.

On July 18, the Voice Phishing Crime Government Joint Investigation Team (Joint Investigation Team, led by Hong Wanhee) of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors’ Office announced that it had arrested and detained 18 individuals, including a man in his 30s known as “Romance Team Leader” A, on charges including participation in and activities within a criminal organization. From January 2024 to May 2025, they are accused of operating a voice phishing criminal organization in the form of a call center in Cambodia and extorting tens of billions of won from victims.

The organization established a corporate structure by dividing roles into leader, deputy leader, team leader, and team member, and organized seven specialized teams such as the Transfer Team, Romance Team, Bodycam Phishing Team, and Leading Team. A total of 48 Koreans participated as operators and call center agents. Their methods included luring victims with offers of conditional meetings to induce remittances under the pretext of identity verification fees, or recording obscene video calls and then blackmailing victims for money. They also engaged in stock and virtual asset investment scams, among other schemes.

It was revealed that from September 2024 to January 2025, Team Leader A extorted about 300 million won from five victims, and another Romance Team Leader B extorted about 500 million won from eleven victims between May 2024 and May 2025. Romance Team members C and D worked as call center agents from October 2024 to January 2025 and stole about 300 million won from five victims. Bodycam Phishing Team Leader E was in charge of recruiting women and securing bank accounts under borrowed names, supporting the operation of the organization.

The organization also lured young people with the promise of “high-income overseas jobs.” A Joint Investigation Team official stated, “Cases are increasing in which young people are exploited and punished by voice phishing organizations due to false job information,” and added, “We will also conduct crime prevention activities such as inspecting job placement websites and improving related systems.”

This detection of the voice phishing criminal organization was made possible through an organic joint investigation by the Joint Investigation Team, including prosecutors, police, and the Immigration and Foreigners Policy Headquarters, based on intelligence from the National Intelligence Service’s International Crime Information Center.

The Joint Investigation Team is also investigating the remaining members of the organization, including a foreign leader residing overseas and a Korean deputy leader. The Joint Investigation Team stated, “Voice phishing organizations participate in crimes with clear intent and play indispensable roles in the success of the crimes, regardless of the length of their involvement,” and added, “We will continue to thoroughly investigate so that not a single participant escapes the investigative net.”