Suspect Claims Stock-Tipping Chatroom Fraud Victim
Asked AI for a Way to Ensure a "Quick Investigation"
A man in his 40s who broke into a computer parts store and stole high-priced graphics processing units (GPUs) claimed, in a far-fetched excuse, that he committed the crime based on advice from the generative AI service ChatGPT.
According to Yonhap News on the 25th, Pyeongtaek Police Station in Gyeonggi Province applied for an arrest warrant for Mr. A on charges of aggravated theft.
Mr. A is breaking down the entrance door with a hammer drill and entering a computer parts store. YouTuber Chucheonhaneun Namja (TYPC), Yonhap News
Mr. A is suspected of stealing three boxes of GPUs worth about 17 million won from a computer parts store in Cheongbuk-eup, Pyeongtaek City, at around 5:56 a.m. on the 22nd and fleeing the scene. At the time of the crime, he wore a mask and used a hammer drill, a tool used to bore holes in hard objects, to break down the store’s door, then went inside, quickly stole the GPUs, and escaped.
The police arrested Mr. A the day after the incident, but he had already sold two of the three stolen boxes of GPUs at a steep discount. He sold GPUs originally priced at 7 million won and 2.7 million won for 4.9 million won and 1 million won, respectively, through an online secondhand trading platform. The police recovered the remaining box of GPUs, worth about 8 million won, which Mr. A had not yet disposed of. While proceeding with the process of returning the stolen property to the victim, the police are also tracking down the whereabouts of the goods he sold.
While a pre-arrest suspect interrogation (substantive warrant review) is underway for Mr. A, he has claimed that he is a victim in an investment fraud case involving a stock-tipping chatroom and that he has already filed a complaint with the police. Mr. A stated, "I committed the crime because I wanted the police to investigate the stock-tipping chatroom fraud case quickly." He added, "When I asked ChatGPT, it answered that if I transferred the stolen money to the account that suffered losses from the stock-tipping chatroom, then when I was caught as a thief the police would naturally investigate the stock-tipping chatroom case together while investigating the theft." He further claimed that he deposited 5.9 million won in criminal proceeds into the account of a person who had suffered losses from the stock-tipping investment fraud.
In fact, it has been confirmed that Mr. A has been registered as a fraud victim at a provincial police agency, having filed complaints on two separate occasions, once in the past and once recently. However, because mobile phone forensics and a detailed review of account statements have not yet been completed, further investigation is needed to determine whether his statements are true. A police official said, "The suspect’s statement appears credible, but it has not yet been definitively confirmed." The police plan to continue supplementing their investigation as soon as a decision is made on whether to arrest Mr. A.
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