Romance Scams, Trading Rooms, Voice Phishing, and Other Electronic Financial and Investment Frauds
Prosecutors Reject 1 Case… 58 Applications Submitted
Koreans, who had been detained after being caught in a crackdown by Cambodian authorities on crime complexes, are being repatriated through Terminal 2 of Incheon International Airport on the morning of the 18th./News1,
The police announced on the 20th that they are investigating 64 suspects repatriated from Cambodia, and have applied for arrest warrants for 59 of them. The prosecution has rejected one of these, while another suspect had already been arrested due to a separate warrant.
This case follows the Cambodian authorities’ crackdown on a local phishing call center between July and September, during which many Korean suspects were identified and repatriated. Immediately after the repatriation, the police designated the Chungnam Provincial Police Agency and the Gyeonggi Northern Provincial Police Agency as key investigation offices to conduct examinations of domestic victims and verify allegations.
During the investigation, it was revealed that some suspects testified they were “detained and assaulted by organization members.” The police have secured audio files matching these statements and are conducting thorough examinations. Simplified drug tests on all repatriated individuals returned negative, and more detailed tests are underway.
The investigation of the 64 repatriated suspects is being distributed among six police agencies across the country. The key cases include romance scams, trading rooms, voice phishing, investment, and voucher fraud.
The Chungnam Provincial Police Agency is investigating trading room and voice phishing scams that occurred from the end of last year until July this year. Arrest warrants have been requested for all 45 suspects, with the prosecution following suit. The Gyeonggi Northern Provincial Police Agency is handling romance scam cases from March to April of this year, applying for and requesting arrest warrants for 11 of the 15 suspects.
Additionally, the Gyeonggi Gimpo Police Station, Seoul Seodaemun Police Station, Daejeon Police Agency, and Gangwon Wonju Police Station are also investigating related cases. The Seoul Seodaemun Police Station is investigating one suspect in an investment fraud case that occurred between July and September this year. An arrest warrant was requested for this suspect, but the prosecution rejected it, so no warrant was issued.
The Daejeon Police Agency has applied for and requested an arrest warrant for one suspect in a voice phishing case that occurred in March last year, while the Gyeonggi Gimpo Police Station requested a warrant for one person involved in a voucher and conditional meeting scam. The Gangwon Wonju Police Station is investigating a financial fraud case among acquaintances that happened between August and October of last year.
The police plan to investigate the overall circumstances, including entry and exit details, organizational structure, the state of scam complexes abroad, labor supply and referral networks, kidnapping and detention damages, and drug use. They aim to track down overseas accomplices and domestic linked organizations to devise crime prevention and arrest measures for phishing crimes.