A group behind so-called "no-show (reservation default) scams," which swindled money by impersonating public agencies and others to make reservations and then having victims buy goods on their behalf, has been caught.
The Joint Investigation Unit on Voice Phishing Crimes said on the 14th it arrested and indicted 23 members of a ring that ran no-show scams from a base in Cambodia. They are accused of deceiving 215 victims and taking a total of 3.8 billion won.
The no-show scam ring split roles into a first enticement and a second enticement to carry out the crime. First, the initial enticement impersonated military unit officials or hospital staff and made reservations as if they would use a restaurant. They then asked the restaurant owner to buy items such as military equipment or wine on their behalf, promising to pay later.
When the restaurant owner called the provided number, the second enticement pretended to be selling the items requested for proxy purchase. Trusting forged business cards, fake official documents, or bogus purchase requests, the restaurant owner sent money, and the scammers disappeared.
The no-show scam ring frequently changed the institutions they impersonated and targeted not only restaurants but also pharmacies and paint companies. The crimes continued from May to Nov. last year.
Based on a structure of ringleader → Korean general manager → Head of Team → enticements, the no-show scam ring continuously reviewed sector-specific scenarios for military units, hospitals, and universities to ensure success. It was found they even shared analyses of victim psychology, such as "900,000 won and 1 million won feel different in terms of pressure."
They calculated bonuses by enticement according to performance to spur results. Text messages exchanged by the criminals showed no remorse. When a victim wired money, they celebrated the success. If someone asked for a deposit out of concern for a no-show or refused the proxy purchase of goods, they disparaged the victim.
The unit launched an investigation based on international crime intelligence from the National Intelligence Service and, from Sept. last year to Jan. this year, caught six members who had returned to Korea. In cooperation with Cambodian authorities, it arrested 17 members at crime centers in places including Sihanoukville from Oct. to Nov. last year.
The unit said, "After the on-site arrests, repatriating the members to Korea, which usually would have taken from several months to years, was completed in 40 days."
The unit plans to continue investigating the criminal organization behind the no-show scams. A unit official said, "In the case of public institutions such as military units, there are no requests for proxy purchases through specific companies, so such requests should always be suspected as 'scams,'" and added, "We will do our utmost to keep the public safe from organized, non-face-to-face fraud."