Identities of U.S. soldiers Leaked By Purchase of Cell Phones

The identification cards of more than 10,500 U.S. soldiers stationed in Korea have been illegally used by Korean mobile phone sellers, reported the Internet version of “Stars and Stripes” on Sunday, quoting a confidential Department of the Army memo dated January 4.

The case is currently under investigation by the Cyber Computer Unit (CCU) of the Korean National Police.

According to Stars and Stripes, the CCU notified U.S. Military Police that Korean mobile phone dealers casually copied the identification cards of the soldiers when they purchased cell phones in phone shops near the U.S. military camps.

The investigation by the CCU revealed that the dealers sold the soldiers’ identities to “unscrupulous individuals,” and these individuals created cell phone accounts with the false identifications, the memo said.

“This was done in an effort by these individuals to disguise their true identities from law enforcement,” Stars and Stripes reported.

The memo added that the CCU has confirmed that over 10,500 U.S. military identification cards have been illicitly used by cell phone dealers over the last two years.

Jin Lee leej@donga.com