Seventeen members of a criminal ring that carried out an online scam under the guise of secondhand transactions worth billions of won have been handed over to prosecutors. They are accused of deceiving people by claiming to sell fake goods through social media (SNS) and secondhand marketplaces, swindling 4,117 people out of 2.6 billion won.
The Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency's Cybercrime Investigation Unit said on the 26th that it had sent 10 people, including ringleader A, in their 20s, to prosecutors under arrest on charges of forming a criminal organization, fraud, and violating the Act on Regulation and Punishment of Criminal Proceeds Concealment, and sent the remaining seven without detention on the same charges.
The investigation found they posted photos of fake goods such as department store gift certificates, pro baseball and concert tickets, home appliances, and game items, and committed the crimes by falsely claiming to sell them below market price. Victims reportedly did not suspect the crimes because there were no prior fraud reports for the account or bank account used.
Starting in May last year, police consolidated similar cases nationwide for a focused investigation and sequentially arrested 17 people, including money launderers and brokers distributing bank accounts opened under borrowed names. In addition, 22 account holders who provided those accounts were booked without detention on charges of violating the Electronic Financial Transactions Act.
Police plan to recover criminal proceeds through preservation for forfeiture before indictment, while continuing to investigate accomplices involved in the crimes, including suppliers of fake photos.
A police official said, "Scams involving direct transactions are occurring frequently, such as deceiving buyers by claiming to sell goods below market price or selling scalped tickets by exploiting fans' feelings," and urged, "Verify the bank account and seller information carefully before the transaction."