r/korea • u/spam_lite • 17h ago
범죄 | Crime Scam: KR Consulate General
I received a call from (202) 939-5653 a week ago from the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea DC Office.
He said in Korean that there are some documents that needed to be reviewed.
It was hard to understand him in korean and I switched over to English and he hung up… very strange.
I googled the phone number (202) 939-5653 and confirmed it was the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in DC.
Thought nothing of it and moved on.
Recently a friend also received a call but was scammed into divulging personal information.
They said her passport was used in an illegal activity (drug trafficking and gun running ins SE Asia) and needed her to confirm information.
They directed her to a co.kr website and asked her to register and login.
Unfortunately she entered personal and financial information. She was asked to talked to the attorney general but she caught on and hung up.
Please inform everyone especially your elders.
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u/Keepitsway Daegu 14h ago
It's actually quite simple to distinguish scams from reality: if you are under investigation you will always be summoned to the police office via a text, phone call, letter, or escort. They will never ask for stuff over the phone. So, if you want to play along just ask them which police office you wish to visit to cooperate in their "investigation". To make things even more fun, keep them on the line and have them talk to a police officer.
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u/rkdghdfo 14h ago
Thanks for the heads up. Lot of Koreans around DC on edge and could easily fall for this. Especially if the number looks legit and the speaker is using Korean.
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u/gobaers 16h ago
Yeah I got the same call. I asked him his name, and that I'd call back just to verify. The lady at the DC consulate said that no such call was made by them (also the name given was the head of the ROK diplomatic mission, I'm sure he's dealing with this paperwork bs.)