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Personal information gathered from 1,700 cell phone subscribers was stolen from two agencies of KTF, the nation’s second-largest mobile carrier. The stolen information was then used to make so-called twin phones, duplicate phones that can be used for purchasing goods on the Internet. The cost to original cell phone owners who had their numbers stolen is estimated at W100 million.
The Cyber Terror Response Center of the National Police Agency arrested on Tuesday a cell phone salesman identified as Cho and a part-time employee identified as Im, on charges of selling customers' personal information. The police are still pursuing the cell phone duplicator identified as Oh. The center also charged KTF and an agent identified as Kim, without physical detention.
Personal information and ESN codes stored on cell phones are needed to duplicate cell phones. According to police, Oh and his accomplices duplicated cell phones with the personal information stolen from the two agencies and with the ESN codes leaked from a handset manufacturer. Oh first purchased rice and other necessities through an online shopping website, with the duplicated cell phones. He then resold those goods on an auction website for W100 million, said the police. Purchased goods were charged to original subscribers.
The police said that the two agencies involved had referenced hundreds of customer profiles in two days -- a typical agency will only reference about a dozen a day. The police also charged KTF with negligence, because the communications company had ignored the crime although it could have discovered the scheme in its computer network. KTF claims that it was unaware of the wrongdoing because the company manages thousands of agencies. The company has already compensated victims.
(Han Jae-hyun, rookie@chosun.com )
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