A presumed nephew of one of the top aides to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has been arrested on charges of committing telephone-based financial scams, police said Wednesday.
Oh Ki-beom, an alleged Korean-Chinese nephew of the North’s Workers’ Party secretary Choe Ryong-hae, and an accomplice are suspected of stealing money from a 27-year-old woman, identified as Shin. Last month they allegedly tricked her into logging into a fake website while posing as the prosecution office, then obtained her personal information, according to a spokesman for the Busan police.
The police are trying to confirm the media reports that Oh is Choe’s nephew.
The two suspects allegedly transferred approximately 39 million won ($34,000) from Shin’s account to a fake bank passbook owned by Lee, identified only as a 47-year-old man.
They lured Lee into lending his account in exchange for a 5 percent commission fee, the spokesman said, adding that Lee, who then was under investigation on charges of providing a fake bank account to another phishing scheme, reported the case to the police.
Oh and his accomplice were arrested through a stakeout near a bank in Seoul.
“In response to the scam methods that are becoming more and more sophisticated and systemized, we are seeking ways to root out phone-based financial fraud,” said Kang Sin-myeong, the National Police Agency commissioner, referring to financial crimes carried out through phones, commonly called “voice phishing.”
A total of 35,859 voice phishing cases occurred in 2014, compared with 22,351 in 2012, according to government data. (Yonhap)
