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“I made 3.6 million won in 5 minutes because I followed Mr. Ma’s lead.” “Wow, I’m envious. congratulations.” “It’s a profit given by my beloved teacher.”
This post was posted in September of last year in the Kakao Talk open chat room where ‘Master Ma’, a self-proclaimed stock and futures expert, leads (takes pictures of items to be invested in). Six members posted a bunch of certifications saying, “I made a profit by investing as directed.”
In the certification post, a ‘certification shot’ showing the profit window of the Home Trading System (HTS) was also uploaded, saying, “I earned at least 410,000 won and up to 3.66 million won.” At first glance, it looks like six different members made money from reading.
However, in reality, it turned out to be a ‘self-made play’ performed by one part-time student using about 10 fake KakaoTalk accounts. The profit verification shot also turned out to be a fake by inserting only numbers using a mock investment program.
Kakaotalk all day and 3 million won a month?
The reporter directly applied for a part-time job at the ‘Stock Reading Room’ in September of last year and received training for a day. I got this part-time job from a job search group on Facebook. It was an announcement titled ‘Those who can earn 3 million won a month by just using KakaoTalk all day at home’.
In simple terms, this part-time job is a ‘windman’. It is to be in charge of chatting in the open Kakao Talk room that manages investors in an illegal private futures exchange that operates without the permission of the financial authorities.
First, we need to look at what a private futures exchange is. Usually, an individual needs a margin of 10 million won or more to legally trade futures through a securities company. You must also receive a separate training. Because it is a high-risk transaction.
However, illegal exchanges attract people, saying, “You can invest only with a margin of 300,000 to 500,000 won without education.” Investors who are attracted are allowed to use their fake HTS, and they make a profit by collecting the usage fee. These private exchanges usually operate illegal reading chat rooms that instruct members on how to invest.
A home trading system of an illegal private futures exchange that operates without the permission of the financial authorities.
Those hired as part-timers create an investment atmosphere in this chat room. It’s a role to certify, saying, “I made a profit by following the leadership.” There is no real profit from the stock market, but they use private HTS to manipulate images and post false authentication screens as if they made a profit. It makes other members see this and think, ‘I can make money too’.
10 KakaoTalk accounts per windman
The company where the reporter was trained was hiring three windbreakers, including a reporter. We operated a total of 30 accounts by giving 10 fake KakaoTalk accounts to each windman. The company ordered a remote PC control program called ‘Anydesk’ to be installed on the reporter’s computer.
After receiving instructions, the reporter used this program to access the computer of a company official. When I logged in, there were 10 different KakaoTalk account screens on my computer.
Illegal futures exchanges hire part-timers to manage KakaoTalk chat rooms. The company where the reporter was trained gave 10 fake KakaoTalk accounts to each part-timer, and instructed them to talk as if they were different members and verify their profits. The picture is a computer screen with 10 fake KakaoTalk accounts.
Afterwards, an official from the company explained, “You can get 3 million won a month just by pretending to be a real member in a Kakao Talk room and talking to them.
It is to make up the tone of voice according to the gender and age assigned to each account. Of the 10 accounts the reporter received, one account was a 29-year-old female and the other was a 56-year-old male.
Most of the conversations going on in the Kakao Talk room were the advice and answers of this part-timer. When the first account says, “The Nasdaq is expanding upward, but the Hang Seng is being pressed,” the second account immediately counters, saying, “It is because the Nasdaq is taking the Hang Seng out and giving it a rebound.”
Proof of revenue is also the main task of the windman. An official from the company said, “We charge virtual investment money to several of our HTS accounts for a wind-up part-timer.” “It’s a mock investment that doesn’t cost real money anyway, so you don’t need to look at the chart. Please verify in the chat room.”
Of course, working on an illegal private exchange like this is subject to punishment. The same is true for using a private exchange as a member.
Seo-jeong Kim, a lawyer at J&Partners Law Firm, said, “It is an exchange without the permission of the financial authorities, so it is a violation of the Capital Market Act. She further points out that “the investment is not protected, and just using a private exchange can be punishable as a gambler.”
Correspondent Yerin Choi [email protected]