Cryptocurrency Craze Fuels Crime Surge... Police Arrest 147 in Two Months

Police and Ministry of Science Strengthen Monitoring of Fake Sites
Follow 'Security Guidelines' to Prevent Damage

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] The police have launched a full-scale investigation into cybercrimes involving hacking and scam sites that have surged alongside the virtual currency boom.

According to the National Police Agency on the 8th, during a special crackdown on cyber network intrusion crimes from March 1 to April 4, a total of 114 cases and 147 individuals were identified, with 5 arrests made.

The police are mobilizing specialized personnel from the Cyber Crime Investigation Divisions of provincial police agencies and cyber teams at police stations nationwide to crack down on simultaneous account hacking targeting virtual currencies, distribution of malicious programs, attacks on virtual currency exchanges, and fake sites.

Among the cases currently under investigation are suspected market manipulation incidents where hackers accessed virtual currency exchange accounts to arbitrarily sell existing virtual currencies and purchase obscure coins at high prices, as well as a case where hackers infiltrated a corporate server and stole 1.6 million virtual currencies issued and stored by the corporation itself.

The police, together with the Ministry of Science and ICT, have strengthened a 24-hour monitoring system to detect and block cyber network intrusion crimes related to virtual currency hacking and fake sites. In the past three months alone, 32 electronic financial fraud sites have been detected, approaching last year’s total of 41 detections.

Accordingly, the police and the Ministry of Science and ICT have urged special caution as personal and financial information may be leaked through messenger phishing, smishing, and fake sites. To prevent damage, it is recommended not to click on internet addresses (URLs) from unverified sources received via social networking services (SNS) or text messages, and to delete them immediately. For suspicious site addresses, it is essential to verify whether they match the legitimate site.

Additionally, it is advised to regularly change passwords for virtual currency exchanges and strengthen mobile phone security settings to prevent unauthorized installation of apps from unknown sources.

A government official stated, “When receiving SNS or text messages containing suspicious internet addresses (URLs), it is necessary to develop a habit of double-checking. If you suffer damage, please promptly report to the police through the cybercrime reporting system (ecrm.cyber.go.kr), and if you receive text messages inducing access to fake sites, report them by dialing 118 without an area code.”

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