[Interview] The largest amount of phishing damage ever... Attorney Minyoung Han "Rather than cutting off contact with the criminal, we should leave a 'lead'"

The amount of phishing crime damage from January to July last year reached nearly 799.2 billion won.
52% of ‘organization impersonation type’ voice phishing victims are in their 20s and 30s
“In the recent boom in stock prices, fraud in investment leadership rooms has increased significantly.”
“We need to strengthen legal education for young people and raise social defenses.”

Last year, the number of 'phishing crimes', represented by telephone financial fraud or so-called 'voice phishing', reached an all-time high. Although the total amount of crime damage last year has not yet been calculated, the amount of damage related to phishing crimes calculated by the National Police Agency from January to July of last year was already close to 799.2 billion won, the highest ever.

In particular, the victims of crime are severe, not only among the elderly but also among the 20s and 30s generation who have just entered society or are about to take their first steps. According to the National Police Agency, from January to August last year, the amount of damage from voice phishing crimes impersonating institutions such as the Prosecutors' Office or the Financial Supervisory Service amounted to 675.3 billion won, and 52% of the victims were in their 20s and 30s.

The police have launched a large-scale special crackdown on phishing crimes from September 1st of last year to the 31st of this month. On the 26th of last month, Dailyan spoke to Han Min-young, chief general counsel at Daeryun Law Firm, who has handled many cases related to phishing crimes, about evolving criminal methods and legal response strategies.

“Criminal methods have become very sophisticated...even using deep fakes and AI.”

Regarding recent criminal methods, a lawyer explained, "In the past, voice phishing was simple enough to be used as a joke material with a vague tone of voice, but recent criminal methods have become so sophisticated that even I am scared."

In particular, there were concerns that as criminal methods using artificial intelligence (AI), including deepfakes, increased, the general public was becoming more easily exposed to phishing crimes. A lawyer said, "If you look at the details, the videos and audio using deepfake are definitely a bit awkward," but added, "For people who are older or insensitive to technology, even if it is a little awkward, there are cases where they become victims of phishing crimes."

In addition, a lawyer notes that with the recent stock market boom, investment reading room fraud through smishing (a crime that tricks people into downloading malicious apps, sharing sensitive information, or losing money through fake text messages) is on the rise.

One lawyer said, “I get invited to a ‘high-profit guaranteed investment reading room’ out of the blue via telegram or text message. If there are about 30 people in the room, everyone but me can be considered a cheat.”

He explained, "In reality, leading investment forces create fake sites, but the general public mistakenly believes that the numbers that appear on the fake site are owned by them. The leading forces give relatively small profits to the victims, but then the victims put in more money, and the forces deceive the victims until their investment money completely disappears. Only then do the victims realize the damage they have suffered."

One lawyer advised victims of phishing crimes, "It is necessary to first report to the police and apply to the Financial Supervisory Service or a financial company to suspend account payments. After that, it is important to provide investigative agencies with a clue to track down higher-ups through consultation with a professional lawyer."
 

The following is a Q&A with a lawyer.

-I heard that criminal methods are becoming more sophisticated day by day.
"In the past, voice phishing was simple enough to be used as a comedy material with a vague tone of voice, but recent criminal methods have actually become so sophisticated that even I am scared. Now, even AI technologies such as deepfake and deep voice are applied. For example, deepfake technology is used to pretend to be a real family member, so even people with good sense are often fooled without knowing that it is a phishing crime if they are embarrassed at the moment. If you look at the details, Videos and audio using deepfake are definitely a bit awkward, but people who are old or insensitive to technology may become victims of phishing crimes, even if they are a little awkward.”

-What types of phishing crimes are newly emerging or are you looking at?
"As stock prices have recently entered a boom period, it is believed that fraud crimes in investment leading rooms have increased significantly. In some ways, it can be seen as a type of 'smishing' crime. You are suddenly invited to a 'high-profit guaranteed investment leading room' through Telegram or text, and it starts from there. For example, if there are about 30 people in the room I belong to, everyone except me can be considered a cheater. There, cheaters say, 'I also saw a surge in profits,' and the victims go to the actual site. They try to connect and start investing, but the actual investment leaders create fake sites, and the general public mistakenly believes that the numbers that appear on the fake site are owned by the victims, but then the victims put in more money, and the companies deceive the victims by telling them, for example, that they have to pay taxes to the U.S. government or that they are checking it. “They ask for a deal with all kinds of rhetoric, such as ‘You have to do something to get rid of it,’ or they keep asking for damages by asking, ‘You told me about method A, but why did you do it with method B?’ However, they do not receive the money they are supposed to return, and only then do the victims realize the damage they have suffered and are put in a difficult situation.”

-Recently, a romance scam (scam under the guise of romance) based in Cambodia has been on the rise. What are their specific methods?
"These forces never talk about money from the beginning. They start by exchanging greetings through SNS, etc. In fact, this part is partly responsible for our society, where there are not many people to ask how they are every day. Once they have made you emotionally dependent and think they have gained a certain level of trust, they now talk about money. There are two major cases. The first case flows similarly to the investment leading room method just mentioned. For example, 'Customs clearance is tied up due to taxes, but how much is paid?' They say, 'If you give them money, it will be resolved,' but if the victim gives them money, they keep saying, 'You have to send more,' and they keep trying to swindle the money until the victims say no more.

In other cases, criminals lead people to investment leadership rooms by saying, ‘There is a good place for investment that I know well.’”

-Following a series of recent personal information leaks, citizens are increasingly concerned as they say they are receiving a lot of text messages or calls encouraging phishing.
“The crimes of phishing groups often begin by cleverly exploiting social issues, such as personal information leakage. They send text messages with unexpected content such as ‘Your personal information has been leaked, check it out.’ Recently, the number sending text messages starts with 010, and ordinary people start clicking on them without suspicion. In that case, the cell phone becomes a zombie phone, so to speak.”

-Please explain how to respond if you encounter a phishing crime.
"First of all, it is important to immediately report to the police. Afterwards, it is necessary to immediately apply to the Financial Supervisory Service or a financial company to suspend account payments. The next thing to do is to take active legal action. When faced with a phishing crime, many people are embarrassed and unconditionally cut off contact with the phishing organization or erase the evidence. Rather, there are cases where they receive advice from a phishing lawyer and continue to contact the criminal. In a way, this is an inducement to get caught by the investigative agency. “It can be seen as a strategy, and it is important to provide investigative agencies with a clue to track down higher-ups through consultation with a professional lawyer.”

-Recently, the number of young people who are relatively proficient in digital devices are becoming victims of or involved in phishing crimes is increasing. Please tell me what you think is the cause of this and what the solution might be.
"Young people seem to be safe from phishing because they are proficient in digital devices, but paradoxically, their proficiency and the desperation of employment difficulties make them targets of phishing organizations. Recently, they have become victims of investment reading rooms after being deceived by promises of high profits, but what is more serious is the case where they are lured by the lure of a 'high-paying part-time job' and unknowingly engage in crime by collecting cash. Due to their lack of social experience, they start out thinking it is a simple job, but end up serving a prison sentence. In order to solve this problem, I think it is important to have the awareness that 'there is no such thing as high profits without a reason', and the government and platform must thoroughly block illegal job advertisements and strengthen legal education to inform young people of the real risk of being involved in crime.

Reporter Jin Hyun-woo (hwjin@dailian.co.kr)

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[Interview] The largest phishing damage ever... Attorney Minyoung Han "Rather than cutting off contact with the criminal, we should leave a 'lead'" (Shortcut)