Voice Phishing Gang Using 'Low-Interest Loans' Bait to Extort Money Sent to Prosecution

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] A voice phishing gang that approached debtors under the pretense of offering low-interest loans and extorted money from them has been handed over to the prosecution.

According to the police on the 28th, the Seocho Police Station in Seoul arrested and sent two ringleaders, including a man in his 30s identified as Mr. A, who operated a voice phishing call center, to the prosecution last month on charges of fraud, organizing a criminal group, and violating the Personal Information Protection Act. Additionally, 18 employees, including call center managers and telemarketers, were sent to the prosecution without detention.

About two years ago, Mr. A and others established a call center in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, and approached victims claiming they would help them switch to government-led low-interest loans. They instructed victims to transfer money to them under the pretext that existing debts needed to be repaid in order to receive the low-interest loans. The damage identified so far is reported to be approximately 95 million won.

The police plan to continue investigating to determine if there were additional crimes.

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