"Helping with Government Subsidy Loans"... Gang of Scammers Exploiting 'Corona' Also Arrested

[Image source=Busan Police Agency]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] A gang that deceived victims by pretending to offer government support fund loans through messenger phishing scams and pocketed 2.5 billion KRW has been arrested. The COVID-19 pandemic made it easy for criminals to exploit those in need of money.

Busan Police Agency announced on the 15th that they arrested seven suspects who operated offices in China and domestically from February last year to May this year, and collected 2.5 billion KRW from 685 victims through messenger phishing disguised as COVID government support fund loans, virtual asset investment scams, and body-cam phishing.

Among them, three main suspects including the ringleader A (24 years old) were detained, and two accomplices?a university student B (male, 26 years old) who laundered criminal proceeds through virtual assets, and C (27 years old), who supplied burner phone SIM cards?were booked for prosecution, along with four others including D (29 years old), who produced fraudulent advertising content.

Additionally, the identities of two main suspects who fled overseas have been identified, and Interpol international cooperation investigations are underway with red notices issued.

The police discovered that the suspects targeted phone contacts illegally collected from online mom cafes and notified 70 such cafes to take preventive measures against further victimization.

Investigations into illegal personal information collection activities will also be expanded.

The five main suspects, including ringleader A, had previously worked as employees at overseas gambling sites and became acquainted through that. They set up a domestic office at a pension in Mukak-ri, Seorak-myeon, Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi-do, and orchestrated phishing scams under various pretenses such as COVID-19 government support fund loans.

The accomplice and fund transfer agent, university student B, received a portion of the proceeds earned during the crimes from A and played the role of laundering money by routing it through overseas virtual asset exchanges before returning it. He is suspected of receiving a 10% to 12% commission for this service.

Two accomplices, including C, who supplied SIM cards for mobile phones, are suspected of providing SIM cards registered under other people's names to A.

D, who produced fraudulent advertising content, is accused of assisting the ringleader’s crimes by creating Facebook ad content and fake SNS profiles impersonating investment experts, which automatically invited victims to KakaoTalk open chat rooms set up by the suspects when clicked.

The gang targeted women’s phone contacts extracted from 70 internet mom cafes by sending messenger phishing and investment scam advertisement texts to identify potential victims.

Out of a total of 678 victims, 589 (86%) were women.

Victims were mainly women in their 20s and 30s who trusted SNS media and were deceived by paid Facebook ads, fake investment expert profiles on Instagram, and Naver Band.

Among the 589 female victims, 84% were in their 20s and 30s.

Most victims did not report the crimes to the police due to concerns such as family conflicts, making it difficult for the police to secure victim statements after notifying each victim individually.

The police warned that if one receives SNS messenger or mobile phone advertisement texts impersonating financial institutions or investment experts, promoting COVID support fund loans or virtual asset investments, it is almost certainly a scam.

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