Nine Arrested Over Vietnam-Based "No-Show" Scam Netting 1.55 Billion Won - Seoul Economic Daily
The Financial Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency has arrested nine members of a ring operating out of Vietnam that allegedly posed as South Korean military units to swindle 1.55 billion won through no-show scams.
The nine suspects were referred to prosecutors in custody on charges including organizing a criminal group and fraud. From November last year through June this year, the group allegedly defrauded 62 construction contractors in South Korea of a combined 1.55 billion won.
The scheme involved posing as military units and inducing contractors to buy construction materials on the units' behalf from designated suppliers. In a no-show scam, fraudsters deceive small business owners by promising to pay for goods later, steer them to buy supplies from sham companies set up by accomplices, then pocket the money the owners have wired and cut off contact.
Evolving into Phishing
Police said no-show scams have been evolving into more sophisticated forms of phishing. In some cases, perpetrators pretend to be an existing business partner to push proxy purchases. In others, they impersonate government offices such as fire stations or public health centers, saying an administrative inspection is coming and prompting victims to buy equipment.
Of the 20,245 new-type phishing cases reported nationwide from October last year through September this year, 6,710 — or 33% — were no-show scams.
Proxy purchases are an abnormal transaction structure, and demands to buy equipment ahead of an administrative inspection should be firmly refused.
Broader Crackdown
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's phishing fraud investigation division, created in October last year as part of a government-wide push to stamp out phishing crime, had apprehended 633 suspects, 221 of them held in custody, through October this year.
The total includes 220 members of 25 overseas phishing rings in countries such as Cambodia and Vietnam, with 123 in custody, and 144 members of 19 domestic phishing rings, with 62 in custody.
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