"Your Account is Involved": Call Center Steals 600 Million Won Moves to Central Asia as Cambodia Cracks Down

[Anchor]

Voice phishing and other scam syndicates operating mainly in Southeast Asia have expanded their operational radius all the way to Central Asia. Evading crackdowns in Cambodia and Vietnam, a group of 19 South Koreans who recently established a base in Kazakhstan has been apprehended.

Reporting by Lee Se-hyeon.

[Reporter]

Police check the mobile phones of men standing with their hands behind their backs.

[That is mine.]

Men standing facing the wall board a vehicle one after another.

These are members of a syndicate that committed scam crimes, including voice phishing and text message financial fraud, in Kazakhstan.

Investigations revealed that after setting up a call center in Almaty, Kazakhstan, they impersonated government agencies such as the Financial Supervisory Service, prosecutors' offices, and courts, defrauding 16 victims of 600 million won.

They used tactics such as approaching victims under the pretext of picking up Supreme Court registered mail, deceiving them into believing their accounts were linked to a crime, and forcing them to transfer money themselves.

The Special Task Force on Transnational Crimes apprehended 14 members in Almaty on June 23 and repatriated all of them, while also arresting 5 members who were in South Korea.

All 19 are South Korean nationals.

Investigations showed that they originally operated based in Cambodia, but as local crackdowns intensified, they moved through Vietnam and relocated their base to Kazakhstan starting in April of this year to continue their crimes.

[Kim Byeong-ju / Head of International Cooperation Division 1, Korean National Police Agency: Even if criminal organizations hide in remote and unfamiliar regions as far away as the other side of the globe, we will pursue them to the end, bring them to justice, and protect the safety of our citizens.]

Police have already detained 14 of the 19 suspects and plan to investigate the remaining 5 under a principle of detention.

They are also pursuing other syndicate members who have fled to other countries, including Southeast Asian nations, alongside two Chinese nationals—a general mastermind and a manager—believed to be in China.

(Video Editing: So Ji-hye, Design: Park Tae-young, Footage Courtesy of: Korean National Police Agency)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.