[Coin Scam Trap ②] "At least 100x if listed": Seniors flocking to Seolleung Station

[Coin Scam Trap ②] "At least 100x if listed": Seniors flocking to Seolleung Station

Investment solicitations using non-existent coins as bait... "This place is different" - a legal deception

Annual damages in the hundreds of billions of won in a blind spot for enforcement

Seolleung Station on Seoul Subway Line 2, known as the 'mecca of multi-level marketing scams'. On the 20th, upon entering a hotel near the station, conversations about virtual asset (coin) investments could be heard from the lobby.

At a corner table in the hotel's cafe, an investment briefing was underway with five middle-aged and elderly people gathered. They claimed that investing in a global company conducting coin-based payment businesses would pay out A coins as dividends, which would soon be listed on a famous exchange.

Mr. B, a middle-aged man, confidently stated, "Many people these days lose money by indiscriminately investing in coins or fraudulent companies, but this place is different," adding, "It's a legitimate company certified by the state, so you can earn a lot of money if you invest."

He repeated the word 'legitimate' multiple times throughout the explanation. "A coin paid as a dividend is confirmed to be listed on a famous virtual asset exchange in July, and it's promised to rise 120 times. How much would you make even if it only rose 100 times?" he said with a laugh.

When the reporter asked for his business card, he waved his hand and said, "I'm an investor too." When asked why an investor would solicit investments, he defended himself by saying, "I do receive a small referral fee every time I bring someone in, but it's definitely not multi-level marketing."

The A coin, which he asserted would "rise more than 100 times," was virtually non-existent, not even searchable on virtual asset information sites like CoinMarketCap or CoinGecko, where even unlisted altcoins can be found.

Although investor sentiment in the virtual asset market has significantly contracted this year, investment briefings promoting investments in non-existent businesses or assets using coins or blockchain technology as bait were still thriving around Seolleung Station.

From the 19th to the 20th, in hotels, cafes, buildings, and co-working offices near Seolleung Station visited by the reporter, investment briefings encouraging investments in unlisted coins, etc., were bustling, gathering elderly audiences both in the morning and afternoon.

The types of companies presented as bait ranged from virtual asset exchanges to blockchain technology-based startups, but they shared common characteristics: promising high returns to induce large investments and operating with multi-level marketing tactics.

They typically prepared plausible business introduction presentations (PPTs) and mixed in virtual asset industry jargon that was difficult for the elderly audience to understand, sometimes even falsely claiming to have signed business agreements with the government or large corporations.

In front of a building near Seolleung Station where such investment briefings were held, a signboard warning 'Beware of illegal multi-level marketing and financial scams' was erected, but the eyes of the elderly people entering the building to attend the briefing did not linger on it.

As fraudulent activities using virtual assets as bait continue around Seolleung Station and across the country, the annual damage incurred amounts to hundreds of billions of won.

According to data submitted by the National Police Agency to Representative Park Soo-min's office (People Power Party), the damage from illegal virtual asset activities last year totaled 443 billion won, with 4,058 victims.

In particular, among the types of illegal activities, investment fraud (3,105 arrests, 1,474 individuals arrested) and similar receipt schemes/multi-level marketing (252 cases, 187 individuals) were found to be the most common.

Experts analyzed that scam groups targeting the retirement funds of the elderly are exploiting the expectations surrounding virtual assets, which have emerged as new investment assets, and the symbolic status of Gangnam-gu as an affluent neighborhood.

Professor Lee Woong-hyuk of Konkuk University's Police Administration department explained, "Virtual assets are a vague concept for those who are not familiar with them, making them an effective tool for scams," adding, "From the victims' perspective, it becomes easier to be swayed by false information."