Scammers impersonate financial chiefs to lure retail investors online
Impersonating prominent figures such as Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Shin Hyun-song on social media has emerged as a common tactic among investment scammers, who use fake profiles to lure retail investors into unauthorized investment chat rooms and pitch investment opportunities. The accounts use the officials' names, photos and career histories to appear legitimate, and promote investment-related…
Investment scammers are increasingly impersonating prominent figures like Bank of Korea Governor Shin Hyun-song on social media platforms to attract retail investors. These scammers create fake profiles that utilize the officials' names, photos, and career histories to give the impression of legitimacy. They share investment-related content and promote unauthorized investment chat rooms, aiming to lure unsuspecting individuals into illegal investment schemes.
Recently, a fake account impersonating Shin appeared on Threads, posting about economic trends and investment information. The account did not explicitly recommend specific stocks but encouraged users to message the account to join a group chat. Once users entered the chat room, they were allegedly told they could receive stock recommendations and asked to provide personal information.
In response, the Bank of Korea requested the platform operator to remove the fake account, which was subsequently suspended within a few hours. Despite the difficulty in identifying impersonation accounts beforehand, the BOK remains vigilant and will take immediate action upon discovering such accounts.
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.
