A group that received gold bars purchased by victims who withdrew cash due to voice phishing, and then exchanged and remitted them as virtual assets, has been handed over to the prosecution.
On December 23, the Gangdong Police Station in Seoul announced that it had arrested and referred three individuals, including the domestic head and intermediaries of an overseas voice phishing organization, to the prosecution on charges of violating the Act on the Recovery of Damage from Telecommunications-based Financial Fraud. Five others, including those responsible for collecting and exchanging the gold bars, were referred to the prosecution without detention on the same charges.
According to the police, from November 25 to December 10, these individuals are suspected of defrauding 12 voice phishing victims of gold bars worth 1,552,750,000 won. They then exchanged the gold bars for virtual assets and transferred them to the overseas organization.
Acting on instructions from the overseas voice phishing group, the suspects allegedly impersonated community center employees and Financial Supervisory Service managers, deceiving victims by telling them, "An account opened in your name could be used for criminal activity. Withdraw cash, purchase gold bars, and hand them over to our staff."
The police seized 13 gold bars worth 120 million won from the suspects and returned them to the victims.
A police official stated, "We will continue to pursue an investigation into the overseas organization," and added, "In addition to the typical phishing scenarios involving card couriers, Financial Supervisory Service employees, and prosecutors, crimes involving impersonation of community center staff are also occurring. The public should exercise particular caution."
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