[Exclusive] Victims Surge from 10 to 200: "Fell for the Additional Payment Scheme"... Widespread Secondhand and Ticket Scams Nationwide

"Yesterday, Selling Scalped Tickets; Today, Secondhand Electronics"
Same Bank Account Appears Repeatedly in Different Fraud Cases
Number of Victims Surges from About 10 to Nearly 200

Fraud schemes involving online secondhand transactions and concert ticket sales have occurred simultaneously across the country, with perpetrators stealing money under various pretexts. As the number of victims has surged to several hundred, evidence has emerged that the same bank accounts and contact information were repeatedly used in different crimes, raising suspicions that these incidents are part of an organized cybercrime operation.

National Investigation Headquarters, Seoul Seodaemun District Police Agency. Photo by Jin-Hyung Kang

According to reporting by The Asia Business Daily on March 25, victims have gathered in open chat rooms online to share their experiences. While there were around 10 victims in December of last year, the number has recently surged to about 200.

The victims were commonly targeted through schemes that demanded "additional payments" during transactions made on platforms such as Junggonara, Bungaejangter, and X (formerly Twitter). The sellers, who posted secondhand goods or tickets, would first gain the victim's trust by sending a copy of their ID card or business registration. Once the victim made a payment, the seller would then claim that the depositor's name was entered incorrectly and demand an additional payment to a different account. If the victim requested a refund, the seller would deceive them by stating that the original transaction needed to be canceled and repaid in order for a refund to be processed.

The total financial loss that can be confirmed from known cases amounts to approximately 220 million won. For now, victims have no choice but to report to their local police stations individually; however, because many of the losses are small amounts, police are struggling to secure sufficient investigative resources. Victims are also scattered across the country, making it difficult to mount a collective response.

Victims discovered connections between different cases by directly cross-checking the account numbers provided by the sellers. Upon examining the accounts where the money was deposited, they found that at least 29 accounts appeared repeatedly in dozens of different types of fraud cases. Even when using the same contact information, the perpetrators used different names, such as "Mr. Ahn" for victims purchasing electronics and "Mr. Heo" for those buying exercise equipment. The account under Heo's name was also used in concert ticket scams.

These related cases are currently under individual investigation at police stations nationwide, including Seoul Gangnam Police Station, Gyeonggi Seongnam Sujeong Police Station, and Daejeon Yuseong Police Station, spanning Seoul, Gyeonggi, Busan, Daejeon, and Jeonnam. Gyeonggi Yeoju Police Station, which began investigating a reported case in December last year, reclassified it as an unsolved case earlier this month after failing to identify a suspect.

A police official involved in the investigation explained, "While there are suspicions of connections, it is not easy to consolidate cases from different police stations," adding, "The principle is to transfer the case to the jurisdiction of the account holder's registered address."

Criminal Organizations with Overseas Bases Involved in 'Secondhand Fraud'

Recently, cybercrime organizations have become more organized and sophisticated by establishing overseas bases, prompting victims to call for thorough investigations into these incidents as well. On March 22, the National Police Agency revealed that a criminal organization based in Cambodia was caught stealing 6.7 billion won from about 1,400 people through "Junggonara fraud schemes." This shows that such organizations have expanded their operations from voice phishing and romance scams, which typically target larger sums, to include secondhand trading platforms, where transactions are often smaller in scale.

Accordingly, the National Police Agency plans to deploy specialized investigative personnel, including local police anti-corruption and economic crime investigation units and cybercrime units, to conduct intensive investigations into direct transaction scams and shopping mall fraud until October.

Meanwhile, Chae Hyunil, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea, has introduced the "Multiple Victim Fraud Prevention Act," which contains measures for rapid response to online-based mass victim crimes. However, the bill remains pending in the National Assembly due to disagreements over the scope of authority and related issues.

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