2 Korean Chinese Arrested for Online Bank Theft

Chinese media yesterday said two Korean-Chinese hackers were arrested for allegedly collecting personal financial data from the Internet to steal from Korean commercial banks.

Xinhua news agency said police arrested the duo in Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture. They are suspected of stealing 450 million won (366,599 U.S. dollars) from 86 accounts at Korean commercial banks via Internet banking from January last year to April this year.

At the request of Korean law enforcement authorities, Chinese police began an investigation and arrested the two suspects. They reportedly hacked bulletin boards on Korean Web portals to collect information on account numbers, IDs and passwords. With the data, they are known to have conducted financial transactions on the Internet.

Though they stole 450 million won, they could collect just 500,000 yuan (73,151 dollars) because of the foreign exchange commissions and other fees they had to pay.

A source at a Korean bank said, “They did not hack the Internet banking network managed by banks.”

A security manager at a Korean commercial bank also said, “Individuals should manage their personal information more carefully since financial data available on the Internet can be used to conduct online financial transactions.”

mungchii@donga.com