"Lending a loan if you send a photo"… Loan fraud crimes on the rise

Loan Fraud Crime Alert
Demanding Photos Under Loan Pretext Then Threatening "Give Me Money"
Making Small Payments via Mobile and Selling Burner Phones

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] "I'll lend you money, but send a photo of yourself without a shirt along with your resident registration card."

Seo Eun-hyang (23, pseudonym), a job seeker who needed an urgent 5 million won in March, saw a loan advertisement on an internet community and received a consultation. She was asked for an absurd "collateral" by the lender. Seo immediately ended the conversation and avoided harm, but she nearly became a target of a crime. Several years ago in China, female college students who received personal loans online provided nude photos as collateral, which were leaked in large quantities, causing a social problem. Han Su-jin (47, pseudonym), who had been using bank loans with an annual interest rate in the 10% range, received a call offering refinancing loans at 3-4% interest. She followed the instructions of the consultant and fell victim to a phishing scam. She deposited 10 million won, believing she had to repay the existing loan, but the scammer disappeared, and despite immediately reporting to the police, she was unable to recover the money.

Loan fraud crimes are rampant. They mainly target low-credit individuals by demanding deposits under the pretense of loans or by installing remote applications for refinancing loans to steal money. Cases are increasing where victims are tricked into opening mobile phones under their names or opening overdraft accounts, then having money siphoned off. Recently, a gang impersonating a lending company was caught after defrauding about 1.5 billion won by receiving over 900 mobile phones and 1,200 SIM cards from approximately 440 loan applicants. They deceived victims by claiming that phone activation was necessary for the loan, obtained the phones and SIM cards, then did not provide loans but made small payments and sold the phones as burner phones. This organization meticulously planned the crime by dividing roles among loan consultants, buyers, and customer information collectors.

There have also been cases like Seo’s, where nude photos were demanded as loan collateral and then used for blackmail to extort money. A mother and son duo were arrested for receiving nude photos from five women between early March and mid-last month, then threatening to distribute them and extorting about 100 million won. They operated a female loan consultation site and scouted victims through social networking services (SNS). The police conducted a special crackdown on fraud crimes affecting the common people's economy for two months from February to March this year, arresting 8,076 people and detaining 670. By type, cyber fraud cases numbered 15,674, followed by phone financial fraud at 3,463, insurance fraud at 268, lease fraud at 31, and employment fraud at 18. A police official said, "If you are solicited for loans by phone or online or asked for unusual requests, it is definitely a scam," and added, "If you have been victimized, report to the police as soon as possible."

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