"They Promised Free Stock Lessons, Then Asked for KRW 3 Million?" ... Suspicious Invitations Spreading on SNS

Posing as investment experts to lure users into Telegram
Building trust through study groups and rapport through everyday chats
Fees for advanced study groups range from KRW 200,000 to KRW 3 million

"Please check in again today. We'll send a small gift to anyone who checks in for seven consecutive days."

In a Telegram stock study group, messages began coming in before the market opened. The group had around 70 members. When the group admin explained the outlook for the Korean stock market and key sectors, participants posted greetings such as, "Looking forward to your guidance today" and "I've checked in." After one participant shared their returns, saying they had made a profit on a stock recommended the previous day, others sent congratulatory messages. The admin urged them, "Don't rush to follow the crowd; let's study as we invest."

Each investor who joined the group was assigned a separate "manager." The manager contacted them through a private Telegram chat and asked about their age, contact information, occupation, and the size of their stock investments. The arrangement provided investment information in the group chat while gathering information about investors' circumstances in private chats. Users drawn in by promotional posts on social media from people claiming to be stock investment experts were invited to Telegram study groups and then placed under the guidance of personal managers.

ChatGPT-generated image.

Accounts on social media introducing themselves as investment experts have been luring investors into Telegram investment signal rooms (chat rooms that recommend stocks), it has emerged. They approach users by promoting free study sessions, build rapport with them, and then encourage them to join paid advanced study groups.

According to reporting by The Asia Business Daily on October 15, accounts have recently appeared on social media platforms such as Threads, introducing themselves as former securities firm employees or investment experts and sharing information about specific stocks and investments. Some claim to provide investment advice in provincial areas, describing themselves as "51 years old and formerly with Securities Firm A," while others cite credentials such as "12 years at Conglomerate B" or "formerly with a research institute." Some accounts used different photos and names but listed identical securities industry experience, ages, and investment advisory backgrounds. They contacted users who showed interest in their posts, continued conversations in the comments, and then moved them over to Telegram.

After joining three Telegram stock study groups bearing the names of specific investment firms to investigate, this newspaper found that two of the groups had around 60 to 80 members each. Before the market opened, the group admins discussed the previous day's market performance and the sectors and stocks to watch that day; after the market closed, they analyzed market conditions. The operators claimed that "daily returns reached 18% even as the market plunged" and that participants could make profits by joining the "Black Whale Project" (a pseudonym) run through the study groups.

The operators increased their contact with participants by taking attendance and sharing details of their daily lives. They encouraged members to check in every day and said they would give a gift to anyone who checked in for seven consecutive days. On weekends, they shared photos of meals or walks and asked participants about their daily lives. While investment information was exchanged in the group chat, separately assigned personal managers continued one-on-one conversations, asking specific questions about investment amounts and desired returns based on each person's age and occupation.

Once trust had been built, the operators invariably began encouraging participants to pay for membership. Personal managers introduced advanced study groups and projects, claiming they offered more in-depth information than the regular study groups. The three groups charged membership fees of 200,000 won, 1 million won, and 3 million won, respectively. They also said they would take a fee equal to 20% of the target profits.

Victims continue to suffer losses in scams involving illegal investment signal rooms. According to the Korean National Police Agency, losses from scams involving illegal investment signal rooms totaled 126.6 billion won from September through December 2023, the first year for which figures were compiled. The losses were 710.4 billion won in 2024 and 658.1 billion won in 2025, and another 336.6 billion won in losses were recorded in the first half of 2026.

Experts said these schemes are staged scams that use investment information as bait to approach victims, build rapport, lower their guard, and then demand money. Seo Junbae, a professor in the Department of Public Administration at the Korean National Police University, stressed, "It is difficult to verify whether someone is actually an investment expert based only on the photos or credentials on a social media account. Since investors are fundamentally responsible for their own investment decisions, they should be especially cautious if someone asks for personal information online."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.