A new money laundering scheme that converts voice phishing proceeds into gift cards and siphons them overseas has been identified, and the Financial Supervisory Service issued a consumer alert at the "caution" level.
The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said on the 9th that it issued a consumer alert after a new voice phishing method that launders funds using gift cards was confirmed in succession.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), recent voice phishing rings have been laundering money by buying large amounts of gift cards at unmanned kiosks in big-box stores instead of transferring the proceeds from accounts or withdrawing them from automated teller machines (ATMs), then cashing them out.
Impersonating employees of financial firms such as savings banks, the scammers approached people with low credit and duped them by saying, "If you build a track record of buying gift cards, you can get a loan," then took their bankbooks and debit cards.
The scammers then abused the secured accounts as "shell accounts" for other fraud schemes. After offering other victims low-interest refinancing loans, they impersonated existing financial company employees and pressured them to repay existing loans immediately, saying, "Taking an additional loan while you have an existing one violates the agreement." At that point, they directed the repayment to the previously secured personal accounts. When the proceeds hit the accounts, cash mules bought large quantities of gift cards at store kiosks, cashed them out, converted them into virtual assets, and remitted them to ringleaders overseas.
The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) explained that transferring access media such as debit cards or accounts to others can result in imprisonment of up to five years or a fine of up to 30 million won under the Electronic Financial Transactions Act. It also noted that licensed financial institutions do not require purchase records of specific goods during loan reviews.
The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), in consultation with gift card issuers such as big-box stores, decided to significantly lower the purchase limits for gift cards at unmanned kiosks. Previously, up to 5 million won could be bought per transaction, but going forward, purchases will be capped at 1 million won per transaction and per day, respectively. It also plans to expand information sharing with related agencies by using the voice phishing information-sharing and analysis AI platform (ASAP).