A Broken Net for Side Job Scam Investigations...Victims Give Up on Recovery [Pitfalls of Side Jobs] ③

Editor's NoteWith 650,000 people now engaged in side jobs, many who started side work to supplement their livelihood are losing hope after falling victim to scams disguised as side jobs. These side job scams are producing numerous victims by cleverly evading the scrutiny of both the government and online platforms. The Asia Business Daily aims to track the spread of side job scams and the suffering of their victims.

Ms. Cho (33, female) lost 21 million won to a travel agency side job scam on May 6. She went to the Suwon Nambu Police Station to report the scam, but only received a discouraging response. The police told her, "It may be difficult to resolve the case," explaining that it would be hard to track the perpetrator because a stolen bank account was used. Two months later, the police registered Cho's scam case as an "unresolved case under management." This means that the investigation is effectively suspended because the suspect cannot be identified. "Even people involved with the stolen bank account claim to be victims themselves," Cho said. "It's infuriating to be scammed, but the fact that recovering my losses and holding the perpetrator accountable is so difficult made it even harder."

The investigation network, full of holes due to its inability to keep up with evolving criminal techniques, is making things even more difficult for victims of side job scams. Frustrated by insufficient police investigations, many victims quickly conclude that recovery is unlikely and give up trying to recover their losses. Some do not disclose the scam to anyone around them or take any action, simply avoiding the issue altogether.

According to the National Police Agency on the 29th, the number of "other cyber fraud crimes," which includes side job scams, reached 95,752 cases last year. The number of other cyber fraud crimes was 39,906 in 2020, 47,087 in 2021, 65,570 in 2022, and 75,659 in 2023, showing a steady increase each year. Even though law enforcement agencies have been classifying romance scams and cyber investment fraud separately from other cyber fraud crimes since last year, the number of cases has surged as side job scams continue to spread through social networking services (SNS).

While crimes are on the rise, police investigations remain insufficient. Last year, only 41,115 cases of other cyber fraud crimes were solved, resulting in an arrest rate of less than 43 percent. The arrest rate has continued to decline: 63.2 percent in 2020, 59.9 percent in 2021, 57.7 percent in 2022, and 47.4 percent in 2023. A police official commented, "Side job scams mainly occur online or through non-face-to-face channels, and the use of stolen bank accounts makes tracking difficult. The types of crimes are also becoming increasingly diverse."

Ultimately, victims of side job scams are faced with the police suspending their investigations. From January to August this year, the number of unresolved cases under management reached 4,632,904, already surpassing last year's total of 4,486,512. The number of such cases has increased annually: 3,826,647 in 2021, 4,038,485 in 2022, and 4,262,453 in 2023.

Victims Scammed Again While Trying to Recover Losses..."Afraid of Blame, Can't Tell Anyone"

Victims of side job scams, left without support from the state, sometimes fall into new scams while seeking alternative ways to recover their losses. Mr. Oh (45, male) suffered a side job scam loss of 4.95 million won during the Chuseok holiday in October. In his rush to recover his losses, he reached out through various KakaoTalk open chat rooms and Telegram groups, only to be scammed again for about 17 million won.

Mr. Oh (50, male), who suffered a side job scam loss of approximately 4.95 million won, was further scammed for about 17 million won while trying to recover his losses. Mr. Oh was deceived by claims that his losses could be recovered by swapping the scammer's stolen bank account money with cryptocurrency. Provided by Mr. Oh

In a KakaoTalk open chat room called "24-Hour Scam Counseling," he was told that cryptocurrency was needed to swap with the scammer's stolen bank account funds, so he transferred 5 million won, but received no further response. "I was lured by the promise that they could resolve the case faster than the police, and ended up falling victim to another scam," Oh said. "I barely make enough to live on each month, so being scammed through a side job left me feeling hopeless."

Many victims give up without even attempting to recover their losses, believing that any effort would be futile. Ms. Park (45, female), who lives in Suwon, lost about 100 million won to a side job scam but did not even request a payment suspension from her bank. She often saw in news articles and online communities for scam victims that side job scam losses are excluded from payment suspension eligibility. "When filing the report with the police, I almost asked if a payment suspension was possible, but decided not to. I thought there was no point in asking," Park said. "I've seen so many posts saying that it's impossible for side job scam victims to recover their losses. I couldn't even muster the will to try."

Many victims also avoid telling those around them about the scam for fear of social criticism. Ms. Kim (32, female) did not tell her parents or friends that she lost about 15.3 million won to a side job scam in September. "If I told my parents, they could help me try to recover my losses, but I was afraid they'd think I was foolish and blame me, so I couldn't bring myself to say anything," Kim confessed. "Above all, I didn't want to hear that I was blinded by greed and unable to make sound judgments. I thought it would be better to deal with my difficult emotions alone."