Cambodia-Based 'Fake Stock App' Investment Fraud Ring Busted... 18 Detained

A Cambodia-based fraud organization that lured investors through social networking services (SNS) and embezzled investment funds by manipulating profits using a fake stock trading app has been apprehended by the police.

The Criminal Mobile Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced on the 6th that they arrested 54 members of an organization on charges including fraud, the Act on the Regulation of Concealment of Crime Proceeds, and organizing a criminal group, with 18 of them being detained. The photo shows the crime complex created by this organization by leasing a resort located in Cambodia. Photo by Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency

The Criminal Mobile Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced on November 6 that they had arrested 54 members of the organization on charges including fraud, the Act on the Regulation of Concealment of Crime Proceeds, and organized crime, and detained 18 of them.

According to the police, from February of last year to July of this year, the suspects are accused of defrauding 229 out of 299 victims of approximately 19.4 billion won by running false advertisements claiming they could "guarantee high returns in a short period using information on initial public offerings."

The suspects lured victims who saw "high return" advertisements on SNS into group chat rooms, built trust by pretending to be overseas investment experts, and then had them install a fake stock trading app developed by the organization. They received investment funds through borrowed-name bank accounts and showed manipulated profits to induce further reinvestment.

The police investigation revealed that the suspects rented an entire resort in Cambodia, using it as a call center and accommodation to systematically carry out their crimes. They also established a highly specialized structure with separate teams for operations, call center, money laundering, and account management.

This criminal organization was centered around a Chinese ringleader and consisted of multinational members, including Chinese, Korean, and Thai individuals, each assigned to different teams. Incentives were paid based on the amount of fraud committed. Many call center members were found to have been lured to Cambodia by deceptive offers of "high-paying overseas part-time jobs" and subsequently became involved in the crimes.

The police are continuing international cooperation investigations, including issuing red notices, for 17 organization members who are currently on the run overseas. They also identified 230 million won in criminal proceeds in borrowed-name accounts and took measures to freeze the funds.

A police official stated, "Recently, non-face-to-face financial frauds have been rampant, taking advantage of the stock and virtual asset investment boom. Most offers of high returns in a short period and non-face-to-face investment proposals are scams." The official added, "Since it is especially difficult to recover funds from overseas-based fraud organizations, investors should exercise particular caution before investing."