South Korean Authorities Nab 25 in Coordinated Crypto Scam Bust

Seoul cracks down hard—another day, another rug pull.

Police across three provinces raided 14 locations tied to fraudulent high-yield crypto schemes. The operation dismantled multiple rings promising ’risk-free’ returns—because nothing says legitimacy like 200% APY.

Key takeaways:

- Victims lost over $12M in WEMIX and Klaytn tokens

- Scammers used fake KYC docs and AI-generated ’testimonials’

- One CEO allegedly funneled gains into Jeju Island real estate

Regulators are spinning this as a win for investor protection. Meanwhile, the scammers probably just learned to add ’DAO’ to their next Ponzi pitch.

Manipulated Accounts and Withheld Withdrawals

To build trust, scammers showed fake profits in the victims’ online accounts, manipulating dashboards to make it appear that cryptocurrency assets had been credited. These fabricated gains were used to push victims into making larger follow-up investments.

Authorities noted that once victims attempted to withdraw funds, their requests were either delayed indefinitely or outright ignored. In most cases, the fraudsters vanished with the funds.

Investigation Ongoing, More Crypto Scam Victims Expected

Of the 25 individuals arrested, 20 have been taken into custody while the rest face further legal action. Police have charged the suspects with crimes including organizing and operating a criminal group and violating the Telecommunications Financial Fraud Victim Refund Act.

Investigators believe there may be additional victims who have yet to come forward. The police are continuing their probe, including efforts to identify and apprehend higher-level operators involved in the scheme.

Authorities are urging the public to be vigilant about unsolicited investment advice and to verify the legitimacy of crypto platforms and advisors before engaging in any transactions.

In other news, all three South Korean presidential hopeful have voiced their support for Bitcoin ETF and institutional investment into crypto, marking a significant policy shift in South Korea.

All three major presidential hopefuls in South Korea have endorsed allowing bitcoin ETFs and institutional crypto investment ahead of the 3 June vote, marking a potential policy shift. #BitcoinETF #Crypto @cryptoquant_com @YonhapNewshttps://t.co/63NbHMsIfe