About 3.5 Billion Won Defrauded from Over 15,000 Small Business Owners in Korea
The government, in cooperation with Cambodian authorities, has arrested 17 Korean members of a 'no-show' scam crime organization.
According to the National Intelligence Service on November 27, the 'Cambodia-Korea Joint Task Force for Korean Nationals' (Korea Task Force) raided the headquarters of a no-show scam crime organization in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, on November 13 and apprehended 17 Korean members. This marks the first successful crackdown on a local scam organization since the establishment of the Korea Task Force, which was created following an agreement between the two countries during the Korea-Cambodia summit in October.
The organization uncovered this time consisted of Koreans as well as other foreign nationals, and it was confirmed that from May of this year until now, they have defrauded approximately 3.5 billion won (about 35 billion won) from over 15,000 small business owners in Korea. The no-show-proxy purchase scam involves the crime organization impersonating government agencies or public institutions to request group dinners or large-scale service contracts from small business owners. Using this as bait, they then demand proxy purchases of expensive goods from other shell companies, ultimately stealing the money.
When their criminal methods became known through media reports or law enforcement announcements, the perpetrators would change the impersonated institution to military units and switch to new schemes such as waste disposal or gas mask purchases, causing significant harm to small business owners in Korea.
The National Intelligence Service detected signs of active no-show-proxy purchase scam organizations composed of Koreans and others operating in the casino area of Sihanoukville, Cambodia, in July of this year and began tracking them. They obtained leads on the organization’s location in Cambodia, the identities of Korean members, and digital records, and provided these to the government’s Voice Phishing Joint Investigation Team for coordinated pursuit.
The National Intelligence Service stated, "This outcome is the result of close cooperation and organic collaboration among relevant agencies under the leadership of the Presidential Office to combat transnational crime," adding, "We will continue to work closely with the Cambodian police, centering on the Korea Task Force, to relentlessly track down and eradicate transnational crime organizations targeting our citizens."
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