"Daily 500% Profit Guarantee" Virtual Asset Investment Scam Ring of 49 Arrested

A group that invited people to a virtual asset investment leading room, claiming to guarantee 500% daily profits, was caught by the police for fraudulent activities.

On the 7th, the Cyber Investigation Division of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced that they arrested 49 individuals, including ringleader A, on charges of fraud and violation of the Act on the Regulation of Concealment of Criminal Proceeds. This group deceived victims by falsely verifying profits through KakaoTalk open chat rooms. Photo by Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency

On the 7th, the Cyber Investigation Division of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced that they had arrested 49 people, including the ringleader Mr. A, who lured fraud victims, on charges of fraud and violation of the Act on the Regulation and Punishment of Criminal Proceeds Concealment. Among them, 24 were detained. Nine others, including the overseas ringleader Mr. B and money laundering manager Mr. C, have been red-listed by Interpol.

They are accused of operating fake virtual asset sites overseas, including in the Philippines, from September 2020 to April last year, embezzling 15.1 billion KRW from 253 victims. They impersonated existing investment advisory firms on domestic mobile messengers and invited victims to investment leading rooms they opened, falsely promising "500% daily profits through virtual asset margin trading leading." Margin trading refers to an investment method where profit and loss rates can be amplified according to a set leverage ratio.

First, they randomly selected victims using illegal personal information data and invited them to open chat rooms, which served as investment leading rooms. Then, a "baramjabi" (a person playing multiple roles) promoted investment success stories with fake profit certifications and induced victims to sign up for fake virtual asset investment sites. Victims deposited money for investment and soon saw profit screens showing returns of 3 to 5 times. However, these profit screens were false. The suspects demanded additional deposits for taxes, fees, and other charges to withdraw the profits. After depositing money, victims were forcibly expelled from the site, resulting in fraud. Each victim was defrauded of amounts ranging from 2 million KRW to as much as 430 million KRW.

They adopted a so-called "typing phishing" method, similar to voice phishing, targeting unspecified many people under the guise of financial investment. It was also confirmed that they formed a coalition by gathering a semi-organized group in Telegram group chat rooms to share the crime. Not only Mr. B, the overseas ringleader operating in the Philippines, but also multiple domestic semi-organized groups participated in the crime. Roles were divided into victim luring groups, deception groups, money laundering groups, corporate account supply groups, and withdrawal groups.

A police official said, "Through this investigation, it was confirmed that Telegram, which was mainly a meeting place for ransomware and hacking organizations, is now widely used for civil crime investment fraud due to its non-face-to-face and anonymity guarantees." He added, "We will strive to eradicate the crime ecosystem fostered on Telegram and eliminate financial crimes targeting ordinary citizens facing difficult economic conditions such as high inflation and rising interest rates."

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