By Chung Hyun-chae
Police have smashed two voice phishing rings based in Thailand and Vietnam and arrested 41 people.
Those apprehended have been accused of fraud, and police have also applied an additional charge of “organizing a criminal group.” This is the first time that police have considered such groups as gangs.
Officials at Seoul Seodaemun Police Station said on Sunday that they rounded up 41 people for allegedly swindling 64 people out of 630 million won ($537,000).
Sixteen of the accused, including the leader of one group, surnamed Lee, allegedly set up a call center in Phuket, Thailand, and stole 500 million won from 39 people between July 2013 and June 2014.
Another group of 25 people based in Vietnam, including its head, surnamed Won, also allegedly took 130 million won from 25 people by setting up a call center there between July last year to April 2015. Won also appeared to be second in command of the Thailand group.
Police charged Lee and Won with forming a criminal group. While those accused of fraud charges are subject to up to 10 years in prison, Lee and Won may face up to 15 years.
“The organizations were well managed, with each member having their own clear role, such as developing telemarketing programs, managing a database and training junior members,” a police officer said.
“They even regularly practiced how to cover up their crimes in the event of a police crackdown, such as hiding phishing-related materials in the call centers and disguising the centers as travel agencies.”
Members who achieved a “good performance” received rewards such as a luxury yacht tour, police said.
“We believe the charge of criminal group organization will be accepted, because the two groups had common goals and had their own code of conduct just like a gang,” the officer said.
“If they are considered a criminal group, other voice phishing groups will be affected and we hope it reduces voice phishing crimes.”