South Korea Breaks Up Cross-Border Scam Networks Operating from Cambodia and Thailand
Police arrest 28 suspects linked to online fraud rings targeting South Korean victims amid widening regional crackdown
South Korean police have dismantled a series of cross-border scam networks operating from Cambodia and Thailand, arresting 28 suspects accused of orchestrating large-scale online fraud schemes.
Authorities said the groups ran romance scams, investment fraud operations and fake job-recruitment schemes that collectively extracted significant sums from South Korean victims.
The investigation, which began earlier this year, uncovered links between the networks and organised operators in both Phnom Penh and major cities across Thailand.
According to officials overseeing the inquiry, many of those arrested had coordinated their schemes through offshore call centres, encrypted messaging platforms and social-media channels designed to conceal their identities while targeting vulnerable individuals.
Police said the suspects deployed high-pressure persuasion methods and fabricated online personas to lure victims into transferring money, investing in non-existent financial products or sending personal information later used for identity theft.
Investigators identified a pattern in which scammers in Cambodia and Thailand collaborated through shared logistics, including money-mule networks and digital-payment channels intended to rapidly shift stolen funds out of South Korea.
Authorities noted that the multi-country nature of the operations illustrated the sophistication and increasing reach of transnational cyber-fraud organisations.
The 28 individuals arrested are expected to face charges related to fraud, money laundering and participation in criminal enterprises.
Police said the crackdown is part of a broader campaign to stem the rise of overseas-based scam centres that have targeted South Koreans at unprecedented rates in recent years.
Additional raids and cross-border investigations are anticipated as Seoul expands coordination with regional law-enforcement agencies to dismantle networks that have grown more agile and technologically advanced.
Officials said the arrests serve as a warning to fraud syndicates that South Korea intends to intensify its pursuit of those exploiting citizens through digital deception, regardless of where the operations are based.
Authorities said the groups ran romance scams, investment fraud operations and fake job-recruitment schemes that collectively extracted significant sums from South Korean victims.
The investigation, which began earlier this year, uncovered links between the networks and organised operators in both Phnom Penh and major cities across Thailand.
According to officials overseeing the inquiry, many of those arrested had coordinated their schemes through offshore call centres, encrypted messaging platforms and social-media channels designed to conceal their identities while targeting vulnerable individuals.
Police said the suspects deployed high-pressure persuasion methods and fabricated online personas to lure victims into transferring money, investing in non-existent financial products or sending personal information later used for identity theft.
Investigators identified a pattern in which scammers in Cambodia and Thailand collaborated through shared logistics, including money-mule networks and digital-payment channels intended to rapidly shift stolen funds out of South Korea.
Authorities noted that the multi-country nature of the operations illustrated the sophistication and increasing reach of transnational cyber-fraud organisations.
The 28 individuals arrested are expected to face charges related to fraud, money laundering and participation in criminal enterprises.
Police said the crackdown is part of a broader campaign to stem the rise of overseas-based scam centres that have targeted South Koreans at unprecedented rates in recent years.
Additional raids and cross-border investigations are anticipated as Seoul expands coordination with regional law-enforcement agencies to dismantle networks that have grown more agile and technologically advanced.
Officials said the arrests serve as a warning to fraud syndicates that South Korea intends to intensify its pursuit of those exploiting citizens through digital deception, regardless of where the operations are based.
