"I won't haggle. Do you have more gold?"... Sold gold on Karrot and got hit with a nightmare [Chosun Phishing Chronicles]

When gold prices were soaring to record highs, Mr. A, who lives in Seoul, decided to sell some gold he had bought a few years earlier. He posted a listing on the online secondhand marketplace Karrot Market. A few hours later, a buyer contacted him, and they agreed to meet and trade in person.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) on the 8th,the buyer asked Mr. A if he could purchase more gold than the amount listed in the post.He said he would not ask for any discount and urged Mr. A to sell him any additional gold he might have.Persuaded by this, Mr. A decided to sell more than his original amount.Worried that it might be a scam, Mr. A even checked the buyer’s ID in advance.However, on the day of the actual transaction, when he went to the agreed location, a different person, Mr. B, showed up instead of the buyer.Mr. B explained that he was the buyer’s son and that his father had an urgent matter, so he had come on his behalf.
Sensing something was off, Mr. A asked Mr. B to show his ID to verify his identity.But before that could happen, Mr. B transferred about 18 million won to Mr. A’s bank account as payment. He sent the money to the same account number that had been shared earlier for the deposit.Having already received the money, Mr. A felt he had no choice and handed over the gold, completing the deal.
Later, however, a police investigation revealed that the payment for this transaction came from funds stolen from a voice phishing victim. The fraud ring had the victim transfer money directly into Mr. A’s account, then used Mr. B to collect the gold and convert it into cash as a money-laundering scheme. Although Mr. A had no intention whatsoever of participating in a voice phishing crime, he ended up being investigated as the holder of an account involved in the flow of voice phishing funds.
The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS)has warned that as gold prices have surged and physical gold trading has become more active, voice phishing rings are increasingly trying to launder money through direct gold trades arranged on online marketplaces.In particular,this type of gold scam can happen to anyone, regardless of age or occupation, because it takes place on platforms used by people of all demographics.
An FSS official said, "You should be very cautious about dealing with counterparties who have no transaction history or poor buyer reviews," and added,"In particular, if a buyer insists on depositing a reservation payment and asks for your account number before meeting in person, there is a very high chance it is a scam."the official stressed.
The official also noted,"It is a classic scam tactic for fraudsters to demand that you delete your listing before the transaction, in order to prevent you from changing your mind."and added, "Even if you have to pay some fees, it is safest to trade through a professional gold dealer rather than through direct person-to-person transactions."

zoom@fnnews.com Lee Jumi Reporter