[Anchor]

We have received a report from a victim who says they were swindled out of their entire jeonse (lump-sum housing lease) deposit by a person posing as a lawyer who claimed they could help recover money lost to fraud. It turns out the perpetrator was a fake lawyer who stole the photos and forged the identification of a real, practicing attorney.

Kwon Min-kyu reports exclusively.

[Reporter]

Last autumn, a person in their 60s, surnamed Lee, was scammed out of 3.8 million won in a secondhand transaction fraud.

While Lee was feeling discouraged, an advertisement appeared on their social media this spring claiming to help recover money lost to fraud.

When Lee reached out, the person, who identified themselves as a lawyer named A, sent a lawyer identification card and a registration certificate from the Korean Bar Association.

[Lee (pseudonym) / Victim: They even sent a profile photo and claimed it was them. So, I trusted them completely.]

However, as soon as the contract was signed, A introduced a person named B, claiming an IT expert was needed to recover the funds, and alleged that the 3.8 million won lost to fraud had been transferred to a casino in Macau.

A then induced Lee to deposit money into a cryptocurrency exchange account, claiming they had technology to hack the casino and that if Lee cooperated well, all the money could be recovered.

When Lee began to suspect fraud, A even invited Lee to a group chat for victims, claiming there were others in similar situations.

[Lee (pseudonym) / Victim: I was a bit suspicious. But then a woman in the same group said, 'Sister, other people have already recovered their money and left. Don't worry.']

Claiming that fund recovery was narrowly failing due to repeated account freezes, A demanded more money each time, saying it was necessary to resolve the issue. Over the course of about two months, Lee deposited a total of 140 million won more than 20 times.

[Lee (pseudonym) / Victim: I had a jeonse deposit, and I withdrew 70 million won from it. When I couldn't find any more money, they suddenly blocked me and disappeared.]

The real lawyer whose identity was impersonated by A has already filed a criminal complaint with the police, stating that their identity was stolen. The law firm A claimed to represent was also identified by the Korean Bar Association as a fraudulent entity that the public should be wary of.

[Real Lawyer (Victim of Impersonation): I told them, of course, that it wasn't me. It seems someone is stealing my personal information to commit another fraud against you.]

Reports of lawyer impersonation cases have surged from 7 in 2022 to 177 last year.

[Kim Ju-hyun / Policy Director, Korean Bar Association: Because these crimes are becoming more sophisticated, just checking online is not enough. You must verify through phone calls and in-person meetings before making any deposits.]

The Anseong Police Station in Gyeonggi Province is tracking the flow of funds, suspecting that there may be additional victims beyond Lee.

Reported by Kang Dong-chul and Lee Sang-hak | Video by Kim Yun-seong | Graphics by Park Tae-young