World · East Asia & Pacific · 5 hrs ago
Police link South Korean deaths to Kazakhstan-based scam ring
Police in South Korea linked a 50 million won phone scam to a ring based in Kazakhstan after a woman in her 50s and her son in his 20s were found dead in their home in Eumseong in June.
Investigators say the group pretended to be prosecutors and told the son he was under investigation for crime.
They directed him to isolate himself in a motel room, then buy cryptocurrency and send it to a specified wallet, a tactic police call “self-confinement.”
Police say the mother and son had been under financial strain, and a note at the scene referred to distress over the scam.
The ring, with a Chinese leader and about 40 Korean members, is linked to more than 100 victims and losses of 5.8 billion won.
In July, a joint operation in Almaty arrested 14 members there, while five more were arrested in South Korea; police say about 19 members had been referred for prosecution by August.
The Chinese leader is subject to an international red notice, and police are continuing to track remaining members; they have also asked for a police liaison post in Kazakhstan.
Police linked the deaths of a mother and son in South Korea to a phone-scam group based in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
The son had lost 50 million won to the scam before he and his mother were found dead in their apartment in Eumseong, North Chungcheong Province, on June 20.
Police say the group impersonated prosecutors, isolated the son in a motel and directed him to send cryptocurrency to a specified address.
The group was described as having about 40 members, including a Chinese leader and Korean members, and was linked to more than 100 victims and losses of about 5.8 billion won.
Authorities in Kazakhstan and South Korea arrested 19 members in July, while police continue to pursue others.
- Who
- A Kazakhstan-based phone-scam group, described as including a Chinese leader and Korean members, was linked to the case.
- What
- Police linked the group’s scam to the deaths of a 50s woman and her 20s son, who had lost 50 million won.
- When
- The mother and son were found dead on June 20. Police transferred the case to Busan police on October 19.
- Where
- Eumseong, North Chungcheong Province, South Korea; the group operated from a call centre in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
- Why
- The son was targeted in a scam in which callers impersonated prosecutors and claimed his identity was connected to a crime. Police say they isolated him and induced him to send cryptocurrency.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The son’s phone-scam case was reported to Geumcheon Police Station in Seoul.
The mother and son were found dead in an apartment in Eumseong.
Seoul police transferred the case to Busan police, which was investigating the Kazakhstan-based group.
South Korean and Kazakhstan authorities arrested 14 members in Almaty and five more members in South Korea.
The 14 suspects arrested in Kazakhstan were returned to South Korea in stages.
- Son’s reported loss
- 50 million won
- Linked group’s reported scale
- About 40 members
- Reported victims in South Korea
- More than 100
- Reported total losses
- About 5.8 billion won
- Arrests reported by police
- 14 in Kazakhstan and five in South Korea
3 sources
What people are saying
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I often saw young men who mainly used cash at Korean restaurants and elsewhere this year, and there was concern because they were often seen asking some Korean residents to exchange large sums of money
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