17 Koreans nabbed in Cambodia in joint crackdown on no-show scam ring

Koreans nabbed in Cambodia after a joint crackdown on a scam ring for no-show fraud schemes targeting Koreans earlier this month, Thursday. Courtesy of National Intelligence Service

A total of 17 Koreans have been nabbed in Cambodia after a joint crackdown on a scam ring designed for no-show fraud schemes conducted by the National Intelligence Service (NIS) and local authorities, Seoul's spy agency said Thursday.

The NIS said it raided the main base of a scam ring based in Sihanoukville on Nov. 13 in a joint operation with Cambodian authorities to crack down on a criminal organization targeting Koreans.

Since May, the fraud ring has extorted about 3.5 billion won ($2.4 million) in total from around 15,000 Korean merchants via no-show scam operations, according to the agency.

In such fraudulent cases, scammers, posing as officials at government agencies or public institutions, place false orders with restaurants and other businesses without the intention to honor appointments or contracts. After gaining the businesses' trust, they trick them into buying high-priced goods from bogus entities pretending to be suppliers and pocket the swindled money.

Korea has been ramping up efforts to combat crimes targeting Koreans in Cambodia, such as online scams, following the torture and death of a Korean college student lured to a scam center in the Southeast Asian country in August.

A police unit in Cambodia exclusively dedicated to crimes involving Koreans, known as the Korean desk, was launched in early November in an effort to better cope with rising crimes targeting Koreans.

The latest joint crackdown was the first of its kind since the Korean desk was set up, according to the NIS.