Police bust Thailand-based phishing ring involving nude-photo extortion
Police said Thursday they have busted a Thailand-based voice phishing ring that allegedly swindled 6.7 billion won ($4.73 million) from 68 victims in Korea last year. Eleven members of the phishing ring, including its 29-year-old Korean leader, have been apprehended and referred to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office, with nine of them put under arrest, according to the Seoul…
In a recent crackdown, Thai authorities have dismantled a voice phishing ring based in Thailand, which allegedly defrauded 6.7 billion won ($4.73 million) from 68 victims in South Korea over the course of a year. Eleven individuals linked to the operation, including a 29-year-old Korean leader, have been apprehended and are now under investigation by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office. Of those arrested, nine have been taken into custody.
The suspects, all aged between 20 and 30, are accused of employing various tactics to extort money from their victims. Between May and December last year, they impersonated officials from the Financial Supervisory Service and the prosecution, demanding and obtaining nude photos from their targets. These images were then used to create sexual exploitation materials, which formed part of the extortion scheme.
The criminals demanded deposits, ostensibly for victim compensation, in order to secure the release of the sensitive photos.
The phishing ring was established last year with 24 members, comprising 20 Koreans and four Chinese nationals. The group operated out of a call center located in Bangkok, dividing their responsibilities among three roles. While the specifics of these roles remain undisclosed, the operation was meticulously planned and executed.
Written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
