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 well-known figures on social media to deceive retail investors, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). They create fake profiles using the impersonated individual's name, photo, and career history to appear genuine. These accounts promote investment-related content that may be associated with illegal schemes.
Recently, a fake account pretending to be Bank of Korea Governor Shin Hyun-song appeared on the social media platform Threads. It discussed economic trends and investment information but did not explicitly recommend specific stocks. Instead, it invited users to join a group chat by messaging the account. Those who joined were allegedly offered stock recommendations and asked for personal information.
The BOK requested the platform operator to remove the fake account, which was taken down within hours. The central bank will continue to monitor for such impersonation accounts and take prompt action upon detection, according to a BOK official.
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.
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