In one of the biggest cyber-enabled fraud busts, South Korean authorities have dismantled a massive SIM card racket that exploited the passport details of foreign residents to activate more than 11,000 illegal mobile connections. The ghost SIMs were widely used in voice phishing scams, drug trafficking, and underground lending, causing estimated damages of nearly 96 billion won (approx. ₹575 crore).
How The Racket Worked
The network, spearheaded by a phone shop owner in central Seoul, sourced scanned copies of passports belonging to Southeast Asian residents. Using these stolen identities, SIM cards were registered through 18 mobile retail outlets. Employees at two mobile virtual network operator firms were also found complicit, approving forged application forms and fake documents to bypass strict ID checks.
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The illegally activated SIMs were sold to criminal groups for 200,000 (≈ ₹12,800) to 800,000 won (≈ ₹51,200) each, earning the syndicate around 1.6 billion won in direct profits. The mastermind reportedly pocketed a commission of 30,000 won (≈ ₹1,920) per SIM. Police raids led to the seizure of more than 3,400 fraudulent application forms, 400 SIM cards, and freezing of 730 million won in proceeds. Authorities have also ordered the suspension of 7,395 illicit lines.
Investigations revealed that at least 1,400 of the ghost SIMs were actively used for voice phishing calls, where scammers posed as prosecutors or bank officials to dupe unsuspecting victims. Others were deployed to coordinate drug trafficking networks and run illegal lending businesses. The impact has been severe — South Korea reported record-high phishing losses in 2024, touching 854.5 billion won, with each victim losing an average of 41 million won.
Government Response
Alarmed by the scale of the fraud, South Korean regulators have tightened SIM registration norms. From August, biometric authentication has been made mandatory for issuing new SIM cards to foreign nationals. The government has also capped the number of connections allowed per foreign passport and warned telecom companies of strict action in case of repeated violations.
Rising Global Threat
The bust highlights how identity theft combined with telecom loopholes is fueling organised crime globally. Ghost SIMs not only enable phishing and drug rackets but also create serious national security risks by masking the identities of perpetrators. Authorities have urged the public, especially foreign residents, to be vigilant about the misuse of their passport details and to report any suspicious activity immediately.