"Falsely Reporting Lost Phones for Insurance Payouts and Smuggling Devices Overseas"... 60 Arrested

Jeonnam Police Detain Seven, Including Ringleader

256 stolen mobile phones secured by Jeonnam Police. Provided by Jeonnam Police.

A group of individuals who falsely reported mobile phones as lost to claim insurance payouts or smuggled unused devices to overseas organizations have been apprehended by the police in large numbers.

The Criminal Investigation Unit of the Jeonnam Provincial Police Agency announced on the 10th that it had arrested 60 members of an insurance fraud ring on charges including violations of the Special Act on the Prevention of Insurance Fraud, and detained seven of them, including the ringleader, identified as A (age 42).

Between November 2024 and June of this year, the group allegedly filed false reports for over 2,400 smartphones as lost, fraudulently claimed 4.6 billion won in insurance payouts, and smuggled the reported devices overseas, pocketing an additional 3.7 billion won.

The group reportedly operated telecommunications agency stores and private lending businesses across the country, including in Seoul, Incheon, and Gwangju, attracting mobile phone owners through advertisements for small-amount loans using their devices. They then used the recruited identities to open multiple smartphone accounts, filed false loss reports, and collected insurance payouts.

The smartphones reported as lost were transferred to overseas criminal organizations and were found to have been used in various crimes, including voice phishing, drug distribution, and investment scam chatrooms.

During the investigation, police confiscated 256 stolen mobile phones valued at approximately 400 million won and seized or preserved assets worth about 2.82 billion won belonging to the suspects.

A police official explained, "Even transferring your mobile phone ownership to another person in exchange for a small amount of cash can already constitute an illegal act."

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