The typical modus operandi was using two vehicles to lure the victim’s car to hit the rear of one of the cars by making an abrupt lane change in front of the victim.(image: Leonid Mamchenkov/flickr)
SEOUL, Sep. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — The regional investigation unit within the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said on September 29 that its investigators arrested a group of suspects implicated in a series of insurance scams, with 77 others booked without detention.
According to the police agency, the perpetrators took a total of 600 million won (US$569,000) in 25 cases from nine insurance companies after intentionally causing car accidents in Seoul and surrounding areas for a little more than a year from January last year to February this year.
The typical modus operandi was using two vehicles to lure the victim’s car to hit the rear of one of the cars by making an abrupt lane change in front of the victim. They used expensive cars such as Audi, Mercedes-Benz, or Infiniti purchased from used car dealers so that the victim could feel obliged to pay dearly. All cars they used for the fraudulent play were unregistered, with fake license plates, supplied by loan sharks who take cars as the loan’s collateral.
The principal suspect whose last name is known as Song recruited his accomplices in “host clubs” and Internet cafes who are mostly in their 20s and early 30s. In addition to the main fraud charges, Song and a few other accomplices were charged with illegal confinement and assault as they kept three minor coconspirators in a car for three to four days and threatened to kill if they didn’t pay back the insurance money estimated at 23 million won.
You might be set up by a car accident scam ring. (image: Kobizmedia/ Korea Bizwire)
By Sean Chung (schung10@koreabizwire.com)
