Using small loans as bait... Gang caught for opening and selling 4,000 disposable USIM cards A gang that opened and sold 4,000 disposable USIM cards, using small loans as bait, has been caught. On the 8th, the Metropolitan Police Agency's Cyber Investigation Division announced that they had arrested a total of 18 people, including a 30-year-old man, A, who was the ringleader, on charges of violating the Telecommunications Business Act. According to the police, A and his accomplices opened disposable USIM cards in the names of 4,000 people, mostly those in their 20s and 30s, from July 2020 to last month, and sold them for 10,000 to 50,000 won per card. The police investigated 40 cases in which the victims' personal information was used to open USIM cards, and estimated that the total damage was around 200 million won. The gang used small loans as bait to obtain the victims' personal information. They would advertise "If you want a loan, send your name, resident registration number, and phone number" on social media and then use the information to open disposable USIM cards. The cards were then sold to people who would use them for malicious activities such as phone phishing and spamming. The police are investigating whether there are any additional victims or masterminds behind the gang. The police also warned that "if you receive a loan with an interest rate of 20% or higher, or if you are asked to send personal information via text message or social media, you should be cautious as it may be a scam."
We haven't written up this one. Hankyoreh has the full story — the link below goes straight to it.
