[The Editors' Verdict] "Fraud Is Murder"

A 13-year-old middle school student who jumped from a high-rise apartment was tormented by bodycam phishing. Bodycam phishing is an act of threatening to distribute videos of specific body parts of the victim, filmed through video calls, to acquaintances in order to extort money. A job-seeking person in their 20s took their own life after falling victim to a phone financial scam (voice phishing) impersonating a prosecutor. They were held captive by scammers for 11 hours. After having their money extorted and losing contact with the scammers, they suffered from guilt. A man in his 60s who tried to buy a cheap used car was confined by sellers for 8 hours and forced to take out a loan. He also ended his own life. Initially, it was thought to be a simple accidental death. His family found a suicide note on his phone saying, “I was scammed and feel wronged.” Then the police investigation began.

Unlike other crimes, fraud ironically is the most sensitive and fastest to respond to changes in the times. For example, as the cryptocurrency market overheated, hacking targeting famous cryptocurrency exchanges, smishing and investment scams impersonating exchanges increased. In fact, while the total number of crimes has decreased over the past five years, fraud has been increasing. Until 2017, it was either decreasing or stagnant, but from 2018 it shifted to an upward trend. Since 2019, more than 300,000 fraud crimes have occurred annually. Property damage caused by fraud crimes has also exceeded 40 trillion won annually since 2020. It was previously in the 20 trillion won range, doubling in size.

As fraud methods become more sophisticated, cunning, and malicious, the suffering of victims, their families, those around them, and society grows. On the Blue House petition board, there have been posts requesting strong crackdowns, strict legal judgment, and efforts for victim recovery, stating, “Fraud is a heinous and atrocious crime no less than murder, yet fraudsters feel no remorse.” Once fraud damage occurs, recovery is difficult. This is because fraudsters usually do not have the scammed money but spend it on consumption (entertainment, gambling, luxury goods, etc.) or use it to repay debts. The recovery rate is less than 1%. Many operate as cell-like organizations similar to drug cartels or are based overseas.

According to the National Crime Victim Survey (2018) by the National Police Agency, 89.63% of fraud victims responded that they did not recover any of the damages. The highest response rate for experiencing depression such as helplessness or loss of confidence due to fraud was 39.14%, followed by fear (24.53%), insomnia, nightmares, auditory hallucinations, headaches (17.59%), and feelings of isolation (12.75%). The maximum penalty for fraud is imprisonment for up to 10 years or a fine of 20 million won. This is a very low sentence for an economic and social crime akin to murder. There have been calls for tougher punishments and legislation for confiscation and preservation, but legislation is not easy. Tougher punishments must consider fairness with other economic crimes. As fraud schemes increase, punishments remain weak, and confiscation (recovery) possibilities are low, the structure inevitably leads to many repeat offenses.

While punishment is important for fraud crimes, prevention and cessation (prevention) are the primary tasks. In the UK, all fraud cases and cybercrimes reported through a single reporting channel called Action Fraud are integrated, and reported cases are forwarded to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB), where they are produced and disseminated as information necessary for effective response. In line with the globalization, sophistication, and largeness of fraud crimes, it is worth considering the introduction of a dedicated fraud analysis agency like the UK. Like the saying “Fire prevention! It can never be emphasized enough,” caution against fraud has become a phrase that can never be emphasized enough.

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