Gang Arrested for Selling 5,000 'Mobile IDs'... 4.1 Billion KRW Circulated Through 'Dapo' SIM Cards and Bank Accounts

Illegal Activation of Mobile Phone SIM Cards Under Domestic and Foreign Names Sold to Criminal Organizations

Busan Police Arrest 106 Including Sellers and Gangsters Providing Fake Bank Accounts, 6 Detained

USIM chip seized for illegal activation and distribution.
[Image source=Busan Police Agency]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] A total of 106 members of an organization that illegally activated a large number of SIM cards, known as "mobile IDs," and sold them to criminal organizations or sold "ghost bank accounts" were arrested. The police have detained six of them.

According to the Violent Crime Investigation Unit of the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency, a man in his 20s, Mr. A, and others operated an unregistered mobile phone store using business registration certificates under other people's names, illegally activated about 5,000 domestic and foreigner-registered mobile phone SIM cards, and sold them to criminal organizations involved in voice phishing, illegal lending, and prostitution businesses, violating Article 97 of the Telecommunications Business Act and Article 47 of the Electronic Financial Transactions Act.

The group, which included organized crime members, also provided ghost bank accounts to criminal organizations in exchange for money.

Mr. A and others illegally activated mobile phones under foreigner names using forged passports from last November until April of this year.

They also posted advertisements for quick cash loans on internet cafes and illegally activated mobile phones under domestic names by abusing identification cards.

The daily wage group posted urgent loan recruitment notices online and opened fake SIM cards or bank accounts by stealing the applicants' identities.

The group secured about 5,000 SIM cards through illegal mobile phone activations and earned approximately 1 billion KRW in illicit profits by selling each SIM card to criminal organizations for 150,000 to 200,000 KRW.

Another suspect, Mr. B, and others delivered 90 ghost bank accounts to "ghost SIM" sellers and criminal organizations involved in voice phishing, receiving a monthly usage fee of 2 million KRW per account, resulting in illicit profits of about 3.1 billion KRW.

The Busan police recently discovered problems in the SIM card activation procedures used for ghost phones in crimes and notified the Ministry of Science and ICT to point out these issues and improve the system to prevent further damage.

A police official stated, "Providing financial accounts or personal information to others can be used for crimes, and the provider can also face criminal punishment."

Organized crime members arrested by Busan Police. [Image source=Busan Police Agency]

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