Even with police cracking down on phone scams, scams continue. 26 scammers have been arrested over one month.
Some job seekers are getting themselves involved in crimes trying to make a living during the COVID-19 recession.
A college student in her twenties has been recently arrested trying to collect money through phone scams.
Todd Thacker reports.


A woman talks on the phone at the corner of a city street.
Then a young woman approaches the first woman, who hands her an envelope.
The young woman proceeds to a nearby ATM.
What we’re witnessing is a phone scammer at work.


The young woman who acted as a money collector in this phone scam has since been arrested.

The suspect falsely promised to provide a low-interest loan. Over the course of three days last week, she took about 45 million won from two victims.


The college student was hired by scammers who posted an ad for high-paying part-time work. She earned 650,000 won for her role as a money collector.


The Jeju Provincial Police Agency has ramped up its investigations on phone scams since late last month. Twenty-six scammers have been arrested so far.
Their fraudulent schemes have reportedly totalled 390 million won.


Increasing numbers of job seekers are becoming involved in such criminal activities to make a living during the COVID-19 economic downturn.
But most of their victims are also under serious financial pressure, such as small business owners or seniors. They can lose their life savings in the blink of an eye.


Investigators emphasize the importance of due diligence and prevention, since recovering lost funds is unlikely even if the scammers are arrested and charged.
They added that government offices never ask to hold an individual's funds.


Particularly dangerous are scams which trick victims into downloading apps that embed malicious code on their phones. This enables scammers to intercept calls from a victim to police or regulators.


In an effort to stop scammers in their tracks, police are working more closely with banks and offering rewards to those who report phishing activities to local authorities.

Todd Thacker, KCTV