Fraudulent phone scams impersonating staff from the South Korean consulates in Los Angeles and Seattle have raised concerns, prompting Korean expats to stay vigilant.
This follows a similar scam in which fraudsters posed as South Korean law enforcement and officials from the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the United States, highlighting the increasing sophistication of scam tactics. (The Republic of Korea is the official name of South Korea.)
The scam method resembles voice phishing schemes in which fraudsters impersonate officials from the Embassy of the Republic of Korea and other diplomatic missions. According to the Los Angeles Consulate (Consul General Youngwan Kim), scammers call random Korean expats, introducing themselves as “special staff” from the consulate.
They claim that the person has been involved in a drug-related crime and then direct them to a website, where they demand sensitive personal information, credit card details, and money transfers.
One Korean expat who received such a call shared his experience: “The situation felt strange, so I asked the scammer which department they worked in at the consulate. The scammer responded, saying they were ‘special staff whose department information cannot be disclosed.’ When I continued asking questions, they abruptly ended the call.”
In response, Kyunghan Kang, Police Consul at the LA Consulate, stated, “The consulate may provide guidance on nationality or military service matters over the phone, but we never notify anyone about criminal matters via phone.”
He emphasized that if someone impersonating consulate staff claims you are involved in a crime like drug trafficking and directs you to a website, you should immediately suspect a scam.
The Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the United States has been warning about such scams since December of last year, urging vigilance against fraudsters impersonating diplomatic mission staff.
Scammers are using increasingly sophisticated tactics, including spoofing the phone numbers of the Embassy or local consulates. They call victims, claiming that a warrant has been issued for their arrest and directing them to a fake judicial website, where they demand money transfers.
Notably, these fraudulent websites are designed so that when personal details, such as a name and Social Security number, are entered, a fake arrest warrant appears under the name of a South Korean law enforcement agency.
The Embassy of the Republic of Korea continues to warn the public, stating, “Fraudsters impersonate consulate staff, threatening people with involvement in drug crimes or accidents to lure them into money transfers.” They urge everyone to stay alert and cautious.
BY HYOUNGJAE KIM [kim.ian@koreadaily.com]
