▲ Photo of suspects arrested locally in China
A voice phishing syndicate that operated call centers in China and defrauded elderly people in South Korea out of approximately 10 billion won has been completely dismantled through joint operations by South Korean and Chinese police.
The Gangwon Provincial Police Agency announced today (August 25) that it has transferred six South Korean suspects, who were recently forcibly repatriated from China to South Korea, to the prosecution under arrest for charges including joining and acting as part of a criminal organization and violating the Special Act on the Prevention of and Refund on Losses from Telecommunications-based Financial Fraud.
The organization is suspected of approaching 118 individuals, mostly elderly people in their 60s or older, between January of last year and March of this year by calling them to claim that "a check card has been issued," thereby extorting a total of about 10 billion won.
After calling the victims to tell them a check card had been issued, the suspects installed a malicious call-interception app on the victims' smartphones. This app ensured that even if the victims tried to call investigative agencies, the calls were directly connected to members of the phishing ring.
Unaware that they were connected to phishing syndicate members posing as police officers even when dialing the 112 emergency number, the victims let down their guard.
Exploiting this psychological vulnerability, the suspects deceived the victims by claiming, "Your account has been implicated in a crime, and victims have emerged. We will conduct an asset audit to verify whether you are also a victim," and "You need to follow a few procedures for a summary investigation rather than detention." They extorted money by collecting the victims' check cards or receiving cryptocurrency transfers.
Investigations revealed that the group set up a voice phishing call center office in China and carried out their crimes by dividing roles such as card delivery personnel, card company security team members, police officers, Financial Supervisory Service officials, and prosecutors.
The Gangwon Provincial Police and the Jilin Provincial Public Security Department launched a joint investigation after obtaining intelligence regarding the criminal activities of this organization.
In particular, they brought the smartphones, which served as core evidence in the case, back to South Korea for direct seizure and secured records showing that criminal proceeds were paid out in cryptocurrency.
The two agencies apprehended 10 suspects locally in China, including 4 Chinese nationals—such as the overseas mastermind—and 6 South Korean nationals.
The South Korean suspects joined the organization after seeing high-paying part-time job postings or through the introduction of existing members, subsequently taking on the role of phone consultants.
Police are expanding their investigation into additional crimes committed by the suspects and domestic connected organizations.
They also plan to apply for pre-indictment preservation of 450 million won in criminal proceeds acquired through cryptocurrency.
Choi Hyun-seok, head of the Gangwon Provincial Police Agency, stated, "We will further strengthen practical cooperation with overseas investigative agencies to take the lead in eradicating phishing crimes."
The Jilin Provincial Public Security Department also stated, "Contributing together to the war on crime is a shared goal, and this achievement is the result of joint efforts."
Meanwhile, the Gangwon Provincial Police visited the Jilin Provincial Public Security Department last June and adopted a mutual agreement encompassing the sharing of voice phishing crime intelligence and active cooperation for the repatriation of suspects to South Korea.
(Photo provided by Gangwon Provincial Police Agency, Yonhap News)
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