A new wave of crime is emerging as people who consider themselves victims of injustice turn to crypto and messaging apps like Telegram to order on-demand revenge attacks.
South Korean police said they are investigating a series of cases of property vandalism, intimidation and defamation committed by individuals after receiving crypto payments. The arrestees claimed that they were paid to vandalize their homes and distribute material that offended their landlords.
In Gyeonggi Province, a suspect told police that he was paid between $300 and $600 to stuff threatening leaflets into his victims’ mailboxes, with the message in bold: “I won’t leave you alone.” According to the authorities, this person did not know the identity of the person who hired him, but the police confirmed that they would trace the mastermind.
Increase in crypto-related crime
The incidents come amid a rise in crypto-related crime in South Korea. Last month, prosecutors in Seoul indicted a man accused of poisoning his business partner’s coffee after embezzling company money to secretly invest in crypto in the amount of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
According to the Hankyoreh newspaper, the recent attacks share the same pattern.
On March 1, a branch of the Suwon District Court issued an arrest warrant for a young man surnamed Lim, in his 20s, on charges of vandalism. Police said the man broke into an apartment complex in Hwaseong City on the night of February 22, painted the victim’s door red, scattered food waste at the entrance and smeared dirt on a nearby staircase. Lim is also accused of distributing dozens of defamatory leaflets around the building.
Earlier, prosecutors in Anyang reported a similar case in Gunpo, in which the suspect also painted the door of a house and distributed leaflets with similar content.
Another incident was recorded in December in Pyeongtaek, when police arrested three people for “spraying dirt” on people’s doors and distributing defamatory materials. The three claimed that they received cryptocurrency payments from a stranger who contacted them via Telegram.
Suspected organization of “private revenge”
Police believe that an organization calling itself a “private revenge organization” is operating on Korean Telegram channels, acting as an intermediary connecting tenants and vandals.
This phenomenon is not unique to South Korea. In late 2024, the Russian newspaper Izvestia published evidence that intermediary networks have taken advantage of the anonymity of crypto and Telegram to run on-demand revenge services.
According to the investigation, these intermediaries collect about $1,500 from customers for arsons aimed at non-residential vehicles or property. An intermediary said he promoted the service on Telegram’s public chat rooms and the dark web, then paid about $750 to teenagers to perform the act. The entire transaction is said to be paid exclusively in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Wang Tien
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