[Hyung-ju Heo's Column] How to Spot a Scammer: The 'I am Shinrye' Case

[Creator's World of Heo Young-ju]
Sweet talk that doesn't make sense logically
Excessive gift-giving, boasting of money and connections
Scammers prey on the desires of their victims

This was written on November 2, 2023,the article.

Recently, 'he' has dominated the front pages of all social media platforms. When you turn on YouTube, you see news or interviews related to him, and on Instagram, there are memes related to the phrase 'I AM Shinrye-yo,' which he used to pretend to be a Korean diaspora.

'He' is Jeon Cheong-jo. A woman who portrayed 'the illegitimate child of the Paradise Hotel, with a 51 trillion won balance in a domestic bank account, and a man learning fencing to engage in a fencing duel with Elon Musk.' Oh, my gosh, it's dizzying.

Jeon Cheong-jo first appeared to the public through an exclusive interview published by Woman Chosun a week ago, titled <Fencing Star Nam Hyun-hee & Jeon Cheong-jo, a 15-year-younger Chaebol Third-Generation, Their Meeting, Love Affair, and Marriage Story Revealed for the First Time>. Upon reading the wedding announcement, a large number of Jeon Cheong-jo's elementary school classmates from Ganghwa Island came forward, revealing that he is a woman with a fraud criminal record who had been in jail for over two years and had already been married twice, alternating between male and female partners. The public, having already experienced the 'Nancy Lang and Wang Jin-jin' fraud marriage case, actively sent messages of truth to Nam Hyun-hee, and she appeared to be rescued.

The realities that came to light after the first article were even more shocking. Nam Hyun-hee claimed that she thought he was a transgender person and believed that she was pregnant because he had undergone testicular implantation. As his true identity was revealed, fraud victims began to emerge, including Nam Hyun-hee's relatives, as well as students of YouTuber Roalnam and his acquaintances, who have collectively disclosed that they provided Jeon Cheong-jo with over 1 billion won in investments.

Logically, a transgender person cannot have a child, and the estimated net worth of Lee Jae-yong, chairman of Samsung, the country's largest conglomerate, is between 10 and 11 trillion won – it's impossible for the world to not know about someone with 51 trillion won. Even with just a moment's thought, it's clear that this is completely unbelievable, yet everyone was fooled.

What was the strategy that blinded people's judgment and eyes? It was simple: the Signiel and Bentley, bodyguards and drivers, lavish gifts, boasting about connections with 'a friend of a friend's sister,' the title of a future groom to a former national athlete, and a fabricated bank account balance, and so on.

Lately, while watching YouTube, I've been secretly worried. I've seen many cases on YouTube where there's no fact-checking or referencing, and they lure people in with flashy houses and cars, then use that to attract a following, sell private lectures, and then lead into investment solicitations, and it all looks dangerous. Of course, some of them are genuine, but to ensure that no one else encounters a second Jeon Cheong-jo, let's remember the 'Scammer Beware' guidelines.

First, be wary of flashy houses and cars. Too many people are renting luxury apartments to make a quick buck, pretending to be rich in order to meet wealthy people through apartment communities, or pay high rent to hold meetings in luxury apartment lounges and portray themselves as wealthy. Similarly, a leased foreign car is easily attainable for 1.5 million won a month, so don't be fooled by appearances.

Second, be cautious of excessive gift-giving. Gold diggers also use the strategy of spending money first. They often give excessively to build trust. Remember that Jeon Cheong-jo and Lee Hee-jin, who committed fraud as a Gangnam stock mogul, both chose 'famous' women, showered them with gifts to lure them in, and used their reputations as a tool to build trust to commit fraud.

Third, be wary of excessive displays of wealth. I've met a few people who claimed to have 'trillions of won.' I just chuckled and moved on, but I was surprised at how many people believed them. In this case, Jeon Cheong-jo used a forged American Express Black card, which is only issued to individuals with assets of 19.1 billion won or more, representing the top 0.001% globally, to flaunt their wealth and lure in investors. If someone is excessively bragging about their wealth, be suspicious.

Fourth, be wary of people shrouded in mystery. I don't trust people who haven't been properly verified, whose profession is unclear, and who don't show up in searches. Both Jeon Cheong-jo and Wang Jin-jin pretended to be hidden illegitimate children of the Paradise Group. Be wary of those who seem shrouded in mystery and are not clearly defined.

Lastly, fifth, be wary of those accompanied by bodyguards and drivers. This is a classic role-playing tactic of fraudsters. They use bodyguards and drivers for show, but don't fall for their act. The bodyguards and drivers are often accomplices who participate in the charade. The last person I saw performing this bodyguard act is now in jail. Be careful of these theatrics.

So far, I've discussed scammer warning signs, but if you watch Netflix's 'Inventing Anna' (the story of Anna Delvey, a German heiress who swindled New York's elite), you'll see that even the most intelligent and sophisticated people in New York fell for the scam. No matter how smart a person is, if a scammer is determined, they can easily be tricked. When a scammer sets up a scheme properly, they recruit everyone around them as actors, and this is particularly frightening. Similar to the methods used to recruit people into cult-like groups, if Team A fails, then Team B, Team C, and even stronger teams are assembled for recruitment. This means that once a scammer targets someone, it can be difficult to break free.

Returning to the topic, when I browse social media these days, there's an excessive amount of talk about 'money.' People flaunt their wealth, show unverified account balances to lure others in, and there's no way to verify who is genuine. Those who highlight luxury apartments and cars, and then try to sell something – this is very similar to the typical tactics used to recruit people into multi-level marketing schemes. When you join a multi-level marketing scheme, they first show you pictures of people who have supposedly succeeded within that scheme, like 'pictures of them on a cruise.' Then, they show you screenshots of money deposited into their accounts... it's a predictable script. And people easily fall for it. Don't be fooled, and take a closer look at the truth.

The Jeon Cheong-jo case has allowed the entire nation to study the strategies of 'scammers.' Despite this, these types of scammers will continue to emerge, and people will continue to fall victim. Humans are not free from the weaknesses of 'greed' and 'vanity,' and 'they' are incredibly adept at identifying and fulfilling our shortcomings.

More important than being able to identify a scammer is remembering this truth in order to 'protect ourselves.' 'There's no such thing as a free lunch.'

All the luxury goods, the house, and the car that Nam Hyun-hee eventually received were paid for by her relatives and acquaintances. As a result, she had to endure the humiliation of her most shameful secrets being revealed to the world. There's no such thing as a free lunch. Don't be tempted with the mindset of 'I don't like free things', and stay vigilant. Everyone, stay sharp.