‘3,600% profit’ lure drives surge in coin scams, 1,000 cases in 6 months
A coin investment seminar takes place at an office in Seoul, Aug. 26. Korea Times photo by Choi Hyun-bin
Police say elderly targeted through short-term rental seminars in Seoul’s Gangnam district
An investment seminar held on Aug. 26 at a Seoul office building drew dozens of mostly elderly attendees. The speaker, identified as Mr. A, promoted a newly issued cryptocurrency called “OO Coin.”
“Just buy it and you will receive 1 percent per day through compound interest,” he said, urging participants to invest for at least a year. “We guarantee at least 100 dollars to start, and if you bring in new investors, you get extra incentives.”
He claimed investors would see returns of “at least 3,600 percent, up to 7,900 percent in one year,” adding that the coin’s fixed value of one dollar meant “no risk of losing your principal.”
When asked by this reporter for the project’s white paper, a document outlining its business plan and issuance volume, Mr. A deflected, telling attendees to look for a file uploaded to a Telegram channel. No such document was found, but the group had already attracted 1,600 members.
According to data obtained by the Hankook Ilbo from the National Police Agency, there were 991 cryptocurrency-related crime cases between January and June this year, already double the 482 cases in all of 2024.
Among them, unlicensed fundraising fraud jumped to 115 cases in the first half, nearly triple last year’s total of 39. This comes after a steady decline since 192 cases in 2021, when the V Global scandal defrauded more than 50,000 victims of 2.2 trillion won ($1.6 billion). Other types of scams also rose sharply from 443 cases last year to 874 in the first half of this year.
A police notice warning against illegal fundraising is posted at a building near Seolleung Station on Seoul Subway Line 2, Aug. 26. Korea Times photo by Choi Hyun-bin
‘Pop-up offices’ in Gangnam
Many of the latest schemes rely on so-called “tteotdabang” tactics, in which perpetrators rent offices short-term and quickly organize seminars before disappearing with investors’ money.
Seoul’s municipal investigators issued a warning in May after a surge in complaints. Hotspots have formed around Seolleung Station in Gangnam on Subway Line 2, where short-term office rentals are inexpensive and easily accessible for people arriving in Seoul from provincial bus terminals.
“Between Samsung and Seolleung stations, around 200 to 300 seminars are held every day,” said a local realtor who has worked in the area for 20 years. Another realtor added, “It’s common for offices to suddenly vanish overnight, leading to police calls from angry victims.”
The primary targets are retirees in their 60s and 70s seeking places to invest lump-sum severance payments. In one case, scammers stole 144 billion won from more than 1,400 victims between late 2022 and July 2023, drawing nearly 59 percent of their victims from that age group.
“Any offer that promises returns far beyond normal bank interest rates is almost certainly a scam,” said an official with the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s special judicial police. “We urge people to report or consult with city authorities or the police if they encounter such cases.”
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.