'Report to Prosecution One-Stop' Voice Phishing Joint Task Force Launched

Composed of over 50 members including prosecutors and police
Cooperation teams from FSC and KCC also involved
Unified reporting hotline at 112
Swift refund procedures for victims underway

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The 'Government Joint Investigation Team for Voice Phishing Crimes' held its launch ceremony at the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office on the 29th and began full-scale activities. Voice phishing was first reported in 2006, and the amount of damage reached 774.4 billion won last year alone.

The joint investigation team is composed of about 50 members, including Kim Ho-sam, Deputy Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office, as the head, the prosecutor's office, six police investigation teams, and a financial investigation cooperation team. Among them, there are six prosecutors, and 25 police officers with experience in voice phishing investigations, including Police Superintendent Kim Jung-ok, head of the investigation department at Chuncheon Police Station in Gangwon Province, were dispatched.

The biggest feature of the joint investigation team's operation is that it proceeds in a one-stop manner from reporting to prosecution. Calls scattered across various agencies are unified to 112, and the online damage reporting window is unified to the 'Voice Phishing Integrated Reporting and Response Center.' The joint investigation team plans to quickly identify and arrest from cash collectors to masterminds at the early stage of damage occurrence in cooperation with the center. The financial investigation cooperation team, which includes the Financial Supervisory Service, Korea Communications Commission, National Tax Service, and Customs Service, swiftly freezes voice phishing accounts and takes prompt action against the opening of burner phones and illegal telecommunications companies.

Crime response capabilities are also systematically strengthened. Crime information scattered across agencies is collected, and the personnel composition and crime methods of each criminal organization are analyzed, accumulated, and shared. Major participants in voice phishing criminal groups, such as overseas masterminds, will be forcibly repatriated through criminal justice cooperation, Interpol notices, and extradition requests, aiming to dismantle the criminal organizations. In the past five years, the prosecution suspension rate of voice phishing offenders (due to overseas residence, etc.) was 23.3%, and the prosecution deferment rate (due to unspecified personal information, etc.) was 39%. Over 97% of call centers are overseas, mostly located in China.

The joint investigation team will strengthen punishment for the lowest-level providers of burner accounts, cash collectors, and call center employees, but will show leniency to members who surrender or report the organization within the limits allowed by law, such as non-custodial prosecution. Regarding damage recovery, accounts where the damage money was deposited will be promptly frozen at the early stage of voice phishing occurrence, and victim refund procedures will be expedited through a fast track. Hidden assets and criminal proceeds in virtual currencies will be thoroughly tracked and efforts will be made to return them to victims. To prevent the 20s and 30s generation and housewives from participating in crimes after seeing false job advertisements, the Ministry of Employment and Labor plans to revise the Employment Security Act to require job placement agencies and job site operators to verify the business registration certificates of recruiting companies. Additionally, cases of caller ID spoofing using relay devices (070→010) and the misuse of burner accounts and burner phones opened through non-face-to-face real-name authentication will be shared with related agencies, and institutional improvements will be pursued.

At the launch ceremony, Acting Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok said, "Voice phishing crimes are malicious violations of public livelihood that drive victims to extreme choices," and added, "We will root out these crimes and thoroughly confiscate their profits."

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