[Exclusive] Gang Arrested for Scamming Coin Losers Again with 'Fake Coins'... Police Announce "Nationwide Investigation Expansion"

So far, 37 Victims and 3 Billion KRW in Damages Confirmed
Police: "Victims Continue to Emerge Nationwide"

A group of individuals who induced new investments by promising to compensate for losses suffered from stock or cryptocurrency (coin) trading and pocketed the money have been arrested by the police on fraud charges. It was revealed that they exploited the desperate feelings of victims by distributing fake coins and collecting fees.

According to the police on the 2nd, the Cyber Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency has identified 37 victims so far, with the amount of damage reaching 3 billion KRW. A police official stated, "Numerous cases of damage are emerging nationwide," and added, "The scale of damage could increase to over 10 billion KRW."

The group obtained lists of people who had joined so-called investment leading chat rooms between February and March this year and had suffered losses from investing in stocks or coins, and approached them. They used an application (app) called 'Dabytok,' which they developed themselves, to provide these individuals with fake coins under the pretext of compensating for investment losses. Afterwards, they demanded fees for the coin distribution, causing the victims to take out loans and hand over the money, which was then embezzled.

The victims believed that the coins they received from the group were actual cryptocurrencies, and the police revealed that each victim took out loans ranging from 80 million to 100 million KRW and transferred the money to the fraudsters.

This case is a new type of quasi-deposit crime targeting members of investment leading chat rooms. In the past, crimes were mainly committed by guaranteeing high returns on specific stock items or cryptocurrency investments to attract investment funds, but the group caught by the police this time stole member information from the investment leading chat rooms and carried out fraud under the pretext of compensating for losses.

Meanwhile, the police are extensively collecting cases of damage from all over the country. A police official said, "We are accurately identifying the details and scale of the incident," and added, "We plan to investigate swiftly."

Seo Ji-yong, a professor in the Department of Business Administration at Sangmyung University, said, "People should not fall for inducements such as compensating for investment losses," and added, "Authorities should strengthen regulations and punishments to prevent damage." He also stated, "Especially, fraud crimes such as quasi-deposits disrupt the order of the financial market, so strong regulations should be implemented to raise awareness."

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