"Impersonating Official Bank Numbers"... Telecommunications Firms Caught Assisting Phishing

MVNO Employee and Message Company CEO Among 39 Arrested

Helped Send Voice Ads and Bait Messages; Damages Reach 18 Billion Won

62 Raids Conducted... 8.92 Billion Won in Criminal Proceeds Seized

Individuals involved in telecommunications companies and message sending firms, who enabled voice phishing organizations to deceive victims by displaying official financial institution caller IDs and sending various impersonation messages, have been apprehended by the police. The confirmed financial damage amounts to as much as 18 billion won.

On May 14, the Metropolitan Investigation Division of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced that it had arrested five people, including employee A (49) of a private telecommunications company (MVNO) and B (27), the head of a message sending company, on charges such as violating the Telecommunications Business Act and the Information and Communications Network Act. Thirty-four additional officials from message sending companies were booked without detention. The police also applied for, and received, a pre-indictment preservation order from the court to seize criminal proceeds of 8.92 billion won.

Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, Major Crime Investigation Division, Mapo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

According to the police, A is suspected of using their administrator status at an MVNO, which allowed arbitrary input of caller IDs, to provide voice phishing organizations with network access and management accounts in exchange for monetary gain. B is accused of knowingly offering message sending services to phishing organizations, despite being aware that they were sending bait messages such as "card payments" or "delivery impersonations."

The voice phishing organizations remotely accessed the telecommunications network and altered the caller ID to display the official financial institution number. It was found that they then sent large volumes of voice advertisements, such as loan promotions and card issuance guidance. When victims, believing the call was from their financial institution, answered, they would hear voice advertisements claiming "the highest interest rates have been lowered and screening criteria have been eased" or "you are eligible for refinancing at a minimum of 3% interest or additional loans of up to 100 million won," and similar messages.

A 49-year-old employee A of a private telecommunications company (MVNO) accused of providing the communication network used for falsifying financial institution main numbers is being searched with a seizure warrant (left), and the scene of arresting B, 27-year-old CEO of a text messaging company accused of providing bait text message sending services for voice phishing. Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency

Police investigations revealed that, through A's company, approximately 180,000 impersonated financial institution voice advertisements were sent between January 2024 and March of last year. So far, 41 victims and damages amounting to approximately 9.4 billion won have been confirmed. From January of last year to March of this year, around 580 million bait messages were sent by 18 message sending companies, including B's company. This resulted in damages totaling around 8.6 billion won from 42 victims.

The police identified the involved companies by tracking bank accounts and analyzing call records, and conducted extensive searches of their offices and residences 62 times. A police official stated, "If the official financial institution number appears on the victim's phone, there is a high likelihood that the victim will believe it is a real bank call," and advised, "Even if you receive a call from an official number, you should always call the official number yourself to verify its authenticity."

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