Police Refer Large Number of Members of Cambodia-Based Scam Ring to Prosecution

49 Suspects Referred to Prosecutors, Including 37 in Custody
Scammers Reached Victims via SNS and Lured Them into Coin Investments

Members of a phishing ring that lured victims through romance scams based in Cambodia, or impersonated the Financial Supervisory Service and other institutions to extort more than 10 billion won, have been handed over to the prosecution in large numbers.

The Financial Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced on the 25th that it had referred 49 people from two organizations on charges including joining and participating in a criminal organization and violating the Act on the Compensation for Damage Caused by Telecommunication Fraud. Among them, 37 people, including a Korean ringleader, were referred in custody.

On the 8th of last month in Cambodia, members of an organization, including its Chinese ringleader who carried out romance scams and no-show fraud, were arrested there, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said.

According to the police, Organization A, which had been operating out of Phnom Penh and Prey Veng in Cambodia, was led in its criminal activities by three Chinese nationals who headed the group. The organization was composed of acquaintances from the same hometown and school of a Korean ringleader in his 30s who acted as an effective co-head of the group, and it also included underage members. For the Chinese ringleader in his 60s, regarded as the representative among the group leaders, the authorities are discussing repatriation following his arrest in Cambodia.

Organization A mainly used social networking services (SNS) to lure victims with romance scam tactics. Posing as Japanese women on SNS, they built rapport with victims and then induced them to sign up for fake websites under the pretext of investing in a bogus online shopping mall or opening a so-called "romance savings" account, thereby extorting money. When the police began investigating, they changed their method and told victims, "Let’s use coins for romance savings," directing them instead to a fake virtual asset site.

The group also carried out "no-show" fraud by impersonating university staff members or Buddhist monks and randomly requesting proxy purchases from numerous businesses, then pocketing the money. They would propose to order goods worth tens of millions of won, delay payment, and then disappear. Through this method alone, they are believed to have defrauded 16 people of about 534 million won between December last year and January this year.

Organization B, which was found to be backed by a Chinese ringleader, impersonated the Financial Supervisory Service or the prosecution. By falsely claiming that the victims were involved in a credit card identity theft case and inducing them to withdraw cash, they defrauded 23 people of more than 7 billion won. In the process, they even used forced call redirection technology, guiding victims to install a malicious app so that, even if the victims dialed the official main number of the Financial Supervisory Service, the call would be routed to members of the organization.

Some members of a gang based in Cambodia who carried out romance scams and no-show frauds were repatriated to South Korea in November last year. Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency

The police believe that the two organizations, from March last year until recently, defrauded 68 victims in total of approximately 10.5 billion won. Regarding Organization A, the police have additionally identified 12 members staying overseas and have launched an international joint investigation, while for Organization B, whose ringleader has not yet been arrested, they are tracking the whereabouts of 14 accomplices.

The police have taken pre-indictment seizure and preservation measures for criminal proceeds worth about 1 billion won from 22 of the suspects who have already been arrested. It has been determined that the members generally squandered the criminal proceeds on living expenses and entertainment.

Lee Seunghoon, Chief of the Phishing Fraud Investigation Division 3 of the Financial Crime Investigation Unit at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, urged, "You must be especially cautious about high-return investment solicitations through SNS and any contact that impersonates public institutions or financial supervisory authorities," adding, "You should never comply with requests to sign up for websites or install apps from unclear sources."