Why Did a Woman in Her 60s Try to Buy a 'Google Gift Card' at a Convenience Store?

Police Story in Busan Thwarts New Type of 'Child Impersonation Messenger Phishing' Scam

On the 7th, a woman in her 60s was lingering around the Google gift card section at a convenience store in Dongnae-gu, Busan. A man was picking out ice cream and drinks from a distance.
[Image source=Busan Police]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] Why did an elderly woman try to buy a ‘Google Gift’ card at a convenience store?

A man in his 40s suddenly had this thought. On the 7th, while choosing ice cream at a convenience store, he felt something was ‘off’ about a woman in her 60s he encountered.

The woman lingered for a while before approaching the cashier with a Google Gift Card in hand to pay. The price he heard was 150,000 won.

The man quickly blocked the woman who was about to make the payment.

"Did your child’s phone break down and ask you to buy a Google Gift Card?"

Startled by the unexpected question, the woman showed the text message on her phone instead of answering.

"This is a scam. You must not make the payment." The man’s immediate response was firm and resolute.

"I am Police Officer Park Jin-geon (43) of the Cyber Investigation Unit at Sasang Police Station in Busan!"

The man was an active-duty police officer who had stopped by the neighborhood convenience store on his day off to buy ice cream for his child.

The company sensed that it was a new type of fraud crime and approached the woman. The woman is showing a text message impersonating her child. [Image source=Busan Police]

When the woman in her 60s lingered at the Google Gift Card section, he had already sensed something. The text message she showed was just confirmation.

The crime is a new type of scam called ‘Child Impersonation Messenger Phishing.’ The text message the woman showed was exactly the same as those collected in Officer Park’s investigation cases, down to every word.

Officer Park, who unexpectedly conducted ‘stakeout duty,’ revealed his police identity and advised the woman to call her child, confirming once again that the message was ‘messenger phishing.’

Recently, many reports of child impersonation messenger phishing scams using Google Gift Cards have been filed with the police.

To use the card, one must scratch off the concealed area on the back like a lottery ticket with a coin and register the 16-digit serial number.

The scam involves impersonating the victim’s child to persuade them to buy the card and then asking for the serial number on the back.

This card is popular among young people because it can be used for games, movies, books, paid apps, and more.

According to the police, while previous messenger phishing scams demanded cash transfers by impersonating family members, recently the method has shifted to requesting gift card serial numbers like this.

The reason is that gift card serial numbers are easy to convert to cash online and do not require account numbers or real-name information, making it easier to evade investigation agencies.

Officer Park said, “Any message asking to buy a high-value Google Gift Card due to a phone malfunction should be considered phishing crime.”

He expressed concern, saying, “It has become so common these days that it is necessary to attach phishing scam warning labels on the card PIN section to prevent crime.”

Officer Park is a rookie investigator who joined the Cyber Investigation Unit in February this year after being specially recruited last year.

Although he prevented one phishing scam on his day off, criminals dreaming of evolving new phishing scams will now have to face his watchful eye.

The woman who received Officer Park’s help reportedly said several times as she left the convenience store, “Thank you so much.”

On her day off, Officer Park Jin-geon of the Sasang Police Station in Busan stopped a messenger phishing scam impersonating a woman's child at a local convenience store.
[Image source=Busan Police]

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