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Online scammers target children with fraudulent charity grifts

Published: 24 Oct. 2024, 18:29

An image depicting online fraud [GETTY IMAGES BANK]

Online fraudsters are luring unsuspecting children into their financial schemes by approaching them online under the pretense of helping them donate to charity.

On Aug. 11, a 12-year-old — who asked to be called by the pseudonym Lee Do-hyun — was approached on Instagram by a fraudster who had posted numerous hashtags such as "#donation." The fraudster asked Lee to sell two mobile gift vouchers on Karrot, Korea’s major secondhand marketplace, on their behalf.

The proposal was that Lee list two 100,000-won ($72.5) vouchers for 180,000 won. Once the transaction was completed, he transferred 150,000 won to the account provided by the fraudster and kept the remaining 30,000 won as his share.

"I thought [the fraudster] was a nice adult making donations and just needed help selling the vouchers,” said Lee.

Lee agreed to the offer and put up a post of selling gift vouchers on Karrot. The transaction was quickly completed. Lee received 180,000 won in his account, transferred 150,000 won, and kept the remaining 30,000 won. The buyer of the vouchers converted the mobile vouchers into paper ones at Emart, a major discount chain store, and even thanked Lee.

However, a problem arose during the second transaction the next day. The voucher that was sent to Lee had already been sold and exchanged. The buyer, who suddenly found themselves defrauded of 180,000 won, threatened Lee, telling the child he would be reported to the police.

A screenshot of suspected "give" fraud accounts on Instagram [JOONGANG ILBO]

When Lee asked the fraudster if this was a scam, the fraudster responded, "Yes," and immediately exited the chat, blocking Lee afterward.

The Hwaseong Dongtan Police Precinct is investigating the case. On Wednesday, the police stated that they had questioned Lee, a minor under the age of criminal responsibility, and are now investigating the fraudster.

The scammer has a prior record of being reported to the prosecution for a similar crime by the Incheon Namdong Police Precinct.

Incidents where scammers use hashtags like "#donation" on Instagram to entice minors with promises of pocket money or gift vouchers and then disappear after involving them in fraudulent secondhand transactions are becoming increasingly common.

Numerous accounts offering to give gift vouchers or cash under the guise of "donation" or "give" accounts still exist on social media platforms like Instagram. Lee’s father said he created an online account for his son because internet banking services are convenient, but he “never imagined it would be misused in a scam."

"In the case of fraud on Karrot, it is not uncommon for suspects to be minors or juveniles exempt from criminal responsibility,” said a police official. “Fraudsters exploit the fact that minors cannot be punished and generate numerous victims while evading tracking."

The number of online fraud suspects and victims has been increasing since 2022.

According to data submitted by the National Police Agency to People Power Party Rep. Cho Eun-hee, the number of suspects in secondhand transaction fraud increased from 3,718 in 2021 to 3,901 last year, with 2,371 reported as of September this year. During the same period, the number of victims also rose from 9,351 in 2021 to 7,335 in 2022 and 8,787 last year.

“If a child is involved in a fraud case, it is helpful to report it to the police promptly,” said Han Jin-cheol, a lawyer and advisory member of the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency. “It is also important to thoroughly educate minors to prevent them from becoming entangled in widespread fraud schemes targeting them.”

BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [[email protected]]