Police team awarded 15 million won for cracking down on false dollar sale rumors

A South Korean police investigation team has been awarded a 15 million won reward for successfully uncovering and investigating false information related to forced dollar sales. The rumors, which spread through social media and messaging apps like Telegram, falsely claimed the government was preparing to issue an emergency economic order to compel citizens to sell their dollars. The cybercrime investigation unit at the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency took on the case in late March. This unit is comprised of veteran officers with experience in major cyber incidents, including the 2023 Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education hacking, a 2025 ransomware attack originating from Kazakhstan, and the 2025 KT illegal femtocell case. Detective Lee Jin-hyung explained that the team shifted its investigative approach from merely identifying the original posters based on internet service provider data. Instead, they focused on reverse-engineering the creation and dissemination process of the false posts. This innovative method allowed them to trace the origins and spread of the misinformation effectively. The reward acknowledges their diligence and success in quelling potentially destabilizing financial rumors.

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We shifted the focus of the investigation from the existing method of identifying posters based on data secured from internet service providers to reverse-tracking the creation and spread process of the false posts.