Boy, 13, found dead after blackmail threats

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By Yoon Ja-young

A 13-year-old boy was found dead following an apparent blackmail threat connected to webcam phishing. According to the Incheon Metropolitan Police the middle school student’s body was found in a flowerbed at the base of a 19-story apartment building in Incheon on May 31.

The police are continuing the investigation after discovering circumstantial evidence that indicates the teenager was threatened by webcam phishing blackmailers in an anonymous chat room of a messenger app. The police are carrying out digital forensics on the boy’s smartphone to uncover further details.

Phishing scammers use fake identities and induce victims to take off their clothes or perform sexual acts in front of the webcam during a video chat. They then coerce victims to download malware under the guise of providing clear images, but it in fact steals the user’s contact list from their smart device. Criminals then threaten to spread the footage to those in the victims’ contact list unless they meet the blackmailers’ demands.

Last month, police imprisoned eight people from a ring based in China, for phishing having scammed 75 victims out of around 700 million won ($630,000) through a range of online crimes including the webcam phishing scam. Among them, 28 males aged between 20 and 70 were threatened with the release of such footage, for which they sent a total 300 million won in response.

According to police, such webcam phishing crimes increased by 17.8 times last year compared with 2015. A total of 926 male victims sought support last year from the digital sex crime victim support center under the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, up 3.6 times compared to 2019.

To avoid webcam phishing, one should exercise great caution when a stranger initiates a conversation with them on SNS or chatting applications. One should also adjust settings in smartphones to block the installation of apps from unverified software developers.

The police stress that one should immediately report such blackmail scams to the police and never send criminals money, because in most of the cases they will be demanding further payments.
*If you need expert help due to depression or other difficult concerns, you can receive 24-hour counseling at the Korean Suicide Prevention Center’s hotline at 1393.