Police Conduct Intensive Investigation into 63 Cases of 'Common People's Economy Infringement' Including Phishing and Cyber Fraud in July... 290 Arrested

Cyber Gambling> Illegal Private Loans> Phishing, etc. in Order
Beware of 'Guaranteed High Returns, Legal Small Investments'
Police Notify Related Agencies for System Improvements

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] The National Police Agency announced on the 2nd that it arrested 290 people and detained 33 of them during intensive crackdowns on 'crimes infringing on the common people's economy,' such as phishing crimes and cyber fraud, over the past month.

From June to October this year, the police have defined five types of crimes?phishing crimes, illegal private loans, cyber fraud, cyber gambling, and gambling game establishments?as crimes infringing on the common people's economy and have been conducting special crackdowns. Among these, the police selected 63 cases that occurred last month as intensive investigation cases and focused investigative efforts mainly through local police investigation departments.

By type of arrest in the intensive investigation cases, cyber gambling accounted for the largest number with 153 arrests, followed by illegal private loans with 50, phishing crimes with 42, gambling game establishments with 25, and cyber fraud with 20.

During this period, the police uncovered various types of crimes infringing on people's livelihoods. The Daejeon Metropolitan Police Agency's Metropolitan Investigation Unit, in cooperation with the Suzhou Public Security Bureau in China, arrested seven members of a voice phishing call center organization, resulting in deportation orders, and on the 19th of last month, repatriated and detained two individuals domestically. Next month, five more members of the organization are planned to be repatriated.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Intelligent Crime Investigation Unit identified 26 Thai organization members who installed malicious apps on victims' mobile phones to redirect calls to the voice phishing call center even when calling the police, arresting 13 of them and detaining 10.

The Jeju Police Agency's Cyber Investigation Unit arrested eight members of a fraud organization that sent random text messages promising high returns and lured victims to fake ELS investment and consulting sites, embezzling approximately 3.8 billion KRW, detaining seven of them.

Additionally, the Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency's Cyber Investigation Unit arrested 71 people, including operators, who ran a gambling site disguised as legitimate 'FX margin trading' investments worth 334.4 billion KRW and obtained unfair profits of 36.8 billion KRW.

FX margin trading is a product created by authorized securities firms that allows individuals to participate in foreign exchange trading by providing a certain amount of margin, with profits and losses determined by exchange rate fluctuations between different currencies. However, the police warned that private transactions are considered 'gambling' and advised caution. A police official advised, "If lured by 'legal small investments,' you can verify whether the financial company site is authorized by searching through the Financial Supervisory Service's 'Fine' system."

Furthermore, the Gyeongbuk Police Agency's Vice Investigation Team cracked down on six illegal gambling game establishments that installed 70 to 90 gaming machines and exchanged scores for money. Thirteen people, including business owners, were arrested; 460 gaming machines were seized, and the National Tax Service was notified for taxation on illegal profits amounting to approximately 1.77 billion KRW.

Moreover, based on these investigation results, the police notified related agencies such as the Financial Supervisory Service to improve systems, including ▲strengthening identity verification for non-face-to-face transactions and ▲blocking online banking access when remote control programs are used.

A National Police Agency official stated, "We plan to continue strong crackdowns on crimes infringing on the livelihoods of ordinary people, such as fraud that makes life difficult for them," and urged "the public to actively report and provide information on any victimization."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.