‘We will take revenge on your behalf.’ How a criminal network dishes out vengeance for crypto

Revenge comes at a cost — literally.

Over the past few weeks, South Korean police have unearthed a criminal network that carries out vengeance on customers’ behalf, with bills settled in crypto.

Think of it as an underground version of Craigslist. But instead of getting a gig worker to clean out gutters, customers can hire people to smear human waste on their enemies' front door for $1,300 worth.

For $325, the criminals will leave leaflets scattered around the victim’s neighbourhood, alleging that the person is a child sex offender if they’re male, or a prostitute if they’re female. Other payable tasks include supergluing doors and keyholes, covering houses with slanderous graffiti, and delivering threatening messages.

“We will take revenge on your behalf and settle your grudges,” read a Korean-language X post seen by DL News today. The post featured a Telegram handle, and invited “customers” to get in touch for more details.

The revenge network and their price list were reported by South Korean newspapers Dong-A Ilbo, Joongang Ilbo, and Kiho Ilbo.

The wave of attacks adds to the long list of how lawbreakers have used cryptocurrencies to get paid for their crimes.

In 2015, Ross Ulbricht, the developer behind Silk Road, was sentenced to life in prison for developing a dark web marketplace that enabled people to buy drugs and other criminal services with Bitcoin. US President Donald Trump pardoned Ulbricht in January 2025.

Cybercriminals also often demand payment in cryptocurrencies to avoid being tracked by law enforcement. The North Korean-linked Lazarus Group has laundered billions in stolen funds using crypto rails, security firms say.

Experts also say sanctioned countries like Russia and Iran use blockchain-based money to move funds across the world.

At a time when the crypto industry is striving for legitimacy, stories like these highlight the fact digital assets can be used by law-abiding citizens and criminals alike.

‘A professional organisation’

It is against that backdrop that more details of the South Korean revenge network are emerging.

Police in Gyeonggi Province said in early March that they were investigating three suspected crypto-powered “revenge attack” cases. That number has since gone up to six, with police warning that criminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their methods.

In one of those cases, a victim had had a leaflet shoved into their letterbox. The words “I will not leave you alone” was the ominous message. A suspect later told the police that he was paid between $300 to $600 to deliver the threat.

In another case, police arrested a man suspected of graffitiing the front door of a victim’s house with red paint, scattering food waste on the entrance and smearing human faeces on a nearby stairwell.

Police say that a self-styled “private revenge organisation” is likely behind the wave of attacks.

“We believe a professional organisation is behind these crimes,” a police spokesperson told Kiho Ilbo. “We are conducting a multi-faceted investigation into the matter.”

À la carte services

In addition to the price list above, potential customers can ask “brokers,” who police say function as intermediaries between the masterminds and the people who carry out the attacks, for à la carte services.

Joongang Ilbo journalists, who contacted an alleged broker posing as a client, said brokers also offered to frame potential victims for crimes like assault, cause them financial damage, or even inflict bodily harm.

Police say the criminals who carry out the attacks are paid around $300 per month, in addition to bonuses.

Brokers, masterminds, and attackers all reportedly use Telegram to communicate with one another, and crypto as a payment tool.

This means none of the parties ever have to meet in person, or have any information about one another’s identities.

Officers say criminals plan their attacks meticulously, taking care to avoid closed-circuit TV cameras when possible, or wearing masks, hoods, and baseball caps when they need to pass by cameras.

Police hunt continues

The six cases share close geographic links. One allegedly took place in Uiwang, two in Hwaseong, one in Gunpo, one in Pyeongtaek, and one in Paju. That means they all fall within a roughly 120-kilometre radius of the capital.

So far, however, no revenge attacks have been reported in Seoul.

Police say they have made multiple arrests, remanding all of the people they suspect of carrying out the attacks in custody.

The hunt for the masterminds and brokers who facilitated and ordered the crimes, however, remains ongoing, police said.

Officers said that the revenge attackers’ client list includes suspected fraudsters who have commissioned attacks on people who reported them to the police.

Tim Alper is a News Correspondent at DL News. Got a tip? Email him at [email protected].