Seoul, Beijing police discuss anti-voice phishing cooperation

SEOUL, July 5 (Yonhap) -- The police of the capitals of South Korea and China on Thursday discussed cooperation against international crimes, particularly voice phishing, officials here said.

The discussions, which had been suspended due to a diplomatic row over South Korea's deployment of the U.S. anti-missile system THAAD, took place during a meeting between the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA) and the Beijing Public Security Agency in Seoul earlier in the day, the officials said.

The two sides discussed concerted probes into voice phishing scams, most of which are committed by China-based call centers, according to the officials.

The number of cases of voice phishing fraud stood at 4,642 worth 61.3 billion won (US$54.77 million) in the first half of this year, up 5.4 percent from a year ago.

The SMPA also proposed to Beijing the launch of a hotline and immediate cancellation of visas for illegal call center operators who are Korean and their prompt repatriation, the officials added.

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