Jeonnam Police Arrest and Repatriate Overseas Voice Phishing Suspects Through Local Maritime Police

Interpol Red Notice Action, Joint Investigation with Korean Police in Vietnam Conducted

Police are arresting a suspect on Korean Air flight K684. Photo by Jeonnam Police Agency

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Chunsu] Jeonnam police, in cooperation with Interpol, arrested high-ranking voice phishing suspects locally in Vietnam.

Jeonnam Police Agency announced on the 12th that they directly apprehended two high-ranking voice phishing suspects in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on the 10th through cooperation with the Vietnamese Public Security Bureau via Interpol red notices and sent them into custody.

They are accused of committing voice phishing crimes using converters that alter overseas phone numbers to ones starting with 010 or 02, operating offices in China and Vietnam since the 3rd, defrauding 62 victims of about 2 billion KRW.

Mr. A had been involved in organized crime and left for China in June 2016. Since then, he impersonated prosecutors or prosecution investigators to commit voice phishing crimes, and in December of the same year, he moved to Vietnam and used hotel rooms as crime scenes.

Mr. B sent messages to victims stating "Overseas goods payment has been made," and when victims contacted him, he mainly impersonated prosecutors, deceiving them by saying, "Your account is involved in a crime, so to prove your innocence, you must take out a loan and deposit it into a court virtual account I will provide." The virtual accounts given to victims were all confirmed to be under false names, so-called "dapo accounts."

Two suspects involved in high-level voice phishing were arrested locally in Vietnam and are entering the country through Incheon International Airport. Photo by Jeonnam Police Agency

Additionally, Mr. B used suspect Mr. C, who operates currency exchange businesses locally in China and Vietnam, to transfer the stolen money overseas. With the profits gained, he lived a luxurious life, driving luxury cars in high-end apartments and playing golf.

In particular, the police confirmed that Mr. B is also suspected of using drugs such as ketamine locally in Vietnam and are conducting further investigations.

A Jeonnam Police Agency official said, "If someone impersonating the Financial Supervisory Service or prosecutors tells you to transfer money, you should immediately suspect it is a voice phishing crime," and added, "It is best to hang up immediately if you receive such messages or calls."

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