Yoo Jae-seok, Hong Jin-kyung, Park Myung-soo Suffered From Impersonating Scams: The Damage Reached 1 Trillion Won
Yoo Jae-seok, the national MC, is raising awareness by appealing for identity theft once again.
“We are preparing all possible legal actions related to false advertisements and fake SNS accounts,” said Yoo Jae-seok’s agency Antenna on June 14. This is because a diet product that is not related to Yoo is being sold via social media advertisements, using Yoo Jae-seok’s photo and claiming him as its model. However, in reality, the brand has nothing to do with Yoo.
Earlier, Yoo Jae-seok signed in the “Famous Impersonation Online Phishing Crime Group” formed by instructor Kim Mi-kyung, Sogang University professor Kim Young-ik, Dotty (YouTuber), John Lee (former CEO of Meritz Asset Management), Joo Jin-hyung (former CEO of Hanwha Investment & Securities), and Hwang Hyun-hee. This is because this is not the first case of such damage.
Hong Jin-kyung has constantly posted messages asking people to inform the public about the crime of impersonating celebrities. “It’s been quiet for a while, and scammers are on the rise again,” she said on her social account last month. “Don’t be fooled. I don’t run an economics department or anything related to stocks. If you see this, please report it. Someone please catch the scammers.”
Regarding the fake accounts pretending to be him, Park Myung-soo said, “Celebrities rarely call and borrow money from strangers. Conversely, in such cases where some celebrity asks you to lend them money, you should never be deceived by such a thing.”
Since last year, fraudulent crimes that induce victims by impersonating celebrities and posting advertisements on trusted platforms have been spreading exponentially. On the same day, Yoo Jae-seok’s agency announced on its official SNS, “As the number of false exaggerated advertisements and SNS impersonation accounts have been continuously increasing, the company is taking legal action.”
“Please take special care not to be damaged by false exaggerated advertisements using our artist’s photos without permission, and please report related posts or accounts,” it said, adding, “Antenna will continue to do a serious job in the future to protect its artists.”
Meanwhile, according to the National Police Agency’s tally, from September to December last year, the number of damages from illegal activities at investment chat rooms, including celebrity impersonation fraud, exceeded more than 1,000 cases, and the amount of damage exceeded 120 billion won. The total amount of damage to the actual victims is estimated to exceed 1 trillion won.
