7 Arrested in South Korea for $800M Won Crypto Theft

• South Korean police have rounded up a phishing syndicate involved in crypto theft.
• Seoul police detain six suspects over crypto fraud and economic crime charges.
• The thieves lured victims to phishing websites and compromised their wallets.

The South Korean police have arrested seven members of a phishing syndicate involved in the hacking of virtual asset wallets and stealing 800 million won worth of Tether (USDT). 

A Syndicate of Multiple Expertise

According to reports, six of the gang members were detained in the Seoul Gangbuk Police Station on charges of violating the Information and Communications Network Act and the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes. 

In the meantime, the ongoing investigation reveals that the group, which allegedly hacked virtual asset wallets around April 2025, organized their crimes and split roles among the ring leader, currency exchanger, salesperson, and website developer. They operated by randomly calling individuals and deceiving them with promises of high interest rates on virtual asset deposits before luring them into phishing sites.

Details gathered by the police revealed that the criminals designed the website to steal visitors’ wallet withdrawal permission. The process exposed their assets to unauthorized possession. Meanwhile, the group attempted to launder the stolen funds by cashing them out using domestic and foreign currency exchange platforms, aiming to avoid investigation by the authorities.

Arrests Made After Nine Months of Investigations

It is worth noting that the Korean police pursued the case for over nine months, sequentially arresting the suspects, including a member of the syndicate operating from Vietnam. They could apprehend the operator in Vietnam with the help of the local police officers.

Notably, the Korean police noted that one of the arrested suspects is a developer who masterminded the technical aspect of the crime, involving the phishing site and a smart contract deployed to steal visitors’ funds. 

In the meantime, the Korean police have warned about a rising trend involving crimes related to virtual assets. According to a statement, the police noted that connecting one’s virtual wallet to unverified websites could result in instant loss of funds. 

Meanwhile, the authorities revealed plans to expand investigations to include arresting fugitives overseas while tracking and recovering criminal proceeds. That will form part of the government-wide Transnational Crime Special Response Task Force.

Related: South Korea Police Track Second Thief Behind $4.8M Loss From South Korea Tax Service