Gyeongnam Police Arrest Large Number of Phone Fraudsters... 76 Out of 440 Detained, 500 Million KRW Recovered

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[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Saeyan] A large number of telephone financial fraudsters, including voice and messenger phishing, have been caught by the Gyeongnam police.

The Gyeongnam Police Agency announced on the 8th that they arrested 440 suspects and detained 76 of them during a large-scale special crackdown on telephone financial fraud.

Among the 440 arrested, 255 were face-to-face extortion agents who received money from victims and acted as errand runners, showing an increase of over 300% compared to the previous year.

The number of account holders who provided so-called "ghost accounts" was 81, a decrease of 85% compared to the same period last year, while the number of detainees increased by 153% to 76.

The police recovered approximately 500 million KRW in damages through this focused crackdown and returned it to the victims.

It was also found that the methods of extorting money from victims are becoming more diverse. Until now, the police have guided financial institutions to immediately report to 112 if telephone financial fraud is suspected when victims withdraw cash, enabling joint response by police and financial institutions.

As a result, 63 cases were reported through 112 calls from financial institutions, preventing damages amounting to 1.168 billion KRW.

The police have been focusing on cracking down on the four main criminal tools used by telephone financial fraud organizations: ghost phones, ghost accounts, phone number manipulation relay devices, and illegal currency exchange activities.

So far, 179 people have been arrested, 11 detained, and 603 ghost accounts, 208 ghost phones, and 14 relay devices have been seized.

A police official stated, "In the second half of the year, we will continue to concentrate investigative capabilities on telephone financial fraud and illegal means that threaten the livelihood economy."

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