Voice Phishing Gang Impersonating Financial and Investigative Agencies Caught After Stealing 2.6 Billion Won

A gang involved in voice phishing, which impersonated financial and investigative agencies to swindle victims out of billions of won, has been arrested by the police.

The Violent Crime Investigation Unit of the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency announced on the 10th that they arrested and repatriated three team leader-level members of a voice phishing criminal organization formed in six regions including Qingdao, China, and apprehended 19 individuals who managed phone number manipulation relay devices domestically.

According to the police, from July 2016 to September 2022, the suspects impersonated financial and investigative agencies and children to defraud 229 victims of approximately 2.6 billion won.

They are known to have used tactics such as impersonating prosecutors and investigators to claim involvement in crimes, impersonating financial institutions to recommend refinancing loans, and pretending to be children to request payment for screen repair fees.

The gang rented apartments and officetels in six regions including Qingdao and Shandong Province in China, equipped facilities for their crimes, and operated as a corporate-style organization with a hierarchical structure including a general manager, call center staff, recruiters and managers of bank accounts under false names, cash collectors, and relay station managers.

Additionally, to call domestic victims using 010 numbers, they prepared relay devices (Sim-Box), routers, SIM cards and mobile phones under other people's names, and operated relay stations by installing them in motels, one-room apartments, underground locations, or placing them in vehicles for mobility.

Appearance of the cellphone used in the crime. [Image source=Busan Police Agency]

The police identified call center members by comprehensively analyzing investigation clues, issued arrest warrants, and invalidated the suspects' passports to apprehend them. The suspects, who were found to be illegal residents in China, were repatriated to Korea and detained through cooperation with Interpol.

Among the 19 relay device managers arrested, nine were detained, and at the crackdown site, the police seized 450 mobile phones, over 2,000 SIM cards, and three relay devices.

A police official stated, "It is important to note that investigative and financial institutions do not request money over the phone," adding, "If you are asked for cash, virtual assets, or cultural gift certificates under any pretext, it is 100% a scam, so you should hang up immediately."

He further added, "Since they lure people into participating in crimes by offering large sums of money to install relay devices in one-room apartments or motels, or carry them in vehicles under the guise of internet monitoring part-time jobs, home-based part-time jobs, or server administrator recruitment, caution is necessary."

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