A 'balloon effect' is occurring where Korean scam organizations are moving their bases from Southeast Asia to Kazakhstan. Police jointly investigated with Kazakh authorities and arrested 19 members of a Korean scam organization based in Almaty. They committed various types of phishing crimes, including voice phishing and SMS financial scams, and defrauded about 600 million won from 16 victims in Korea. The organization is analyzed to have moved because Central Asia has well-established IT infrastructure, easy escape routes, and a comfortable environment for Koreans to live. Police are currently investigating the extent of the damage, and the organization members arrested in Kazakhstan have been extradited to Korea and detained.
