Voice Phishing Fake Account and USIM Distribution Organization Arrested... 22 People Indicted and Detained

Hapsudan "Actively Responding to New Methods"

The prosecution has apprehended a domestic distribution organization that supplies a large scale of fake bank accounts and fake SIM cards to voice phishing groups.

Kim Soo-min, head of the government joint investigation team for voice phishing crimes, is giving a briefing.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

On the 14th, the Joint Government Investigation Team on Voice Phishing Crimes (led by Kim Soo-min) announced that from November last year to April this year, they uncovered five organizations and arrested and indicted a total of 22 people, including five ringleaders and 17 members, on charges of fraud and violation of the Electronic Financial Transactions Act.

The investigation team confirmed that domestic distribution organizations are supplying fake bank accounts and fake SIM cards in large quantities to voice phishing call center groups that try to evade law enforcement tracking. These distribution organizations, which appear to be simple identity providers, actually divide roles such as 'ringleader, recruiter, activation (opening) agent, and distributor,' and carry out crimes in an organized manner by preparing manuals to counter investigations.

Since its launch in July 2022, the investigation team has been focusing on tracking fake accounts and SIM cards, essential tools for voice phishing crimes, based on a database accumulated from voice phishing investigations. They collaborate with specialized personnel from prosecution, police, the Financial Supervisory Service, and the Korea Communications Commission. So far, a total of 485 people have been booked, 170 arrested, and the 2023 voice phishing damage amount has dropped to 447.2 billion KRW, falling below 400 billion KRW for the first time since 2018.

The investigation team stated, “We will continue to strictly punish voice phishing crimes and actively respond to new methods, while devising various prevention and publicity measures to protect the public from voice phishing crimes.”

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