Citizens Stopping Rampant Voice Phishing... Multiple Voice Phishing Criminals Caught Red-Handed

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] As non-face-to-face contact has increased due to COVID-19, voice phishing crimes have been rampant. Among these, thanks to reports from citizens who suspected voice phishing, the police have consecutively caught voice phishing criminals in the act.

According to the police on the 27th, the Seoul Dongjak Police Station responded to a 112 report the previous afternoon stating, "I was assigned to receive cash and deliver it through a part-time job connection site. It seems suspicious." They dispatched officers and arrested a man in his 30s, suspect A, who was involved in voice phishing. A, a Chinese-Korean resident, received 35.4 million KRW in cash from another person who had received cash from the victim on a street in Gwanak-gu, Seoul, and on the same day, he was caught in the act trying to receive about 6.3 million KRW on a street in Dongjak-gu using the same method. After receiving the report, the police identified it as a "face-to-face extortion type" voice phishing and deployed a patrol team to the meeting place, where they were able to arrest the suspect.

On the 25th, voice phishing suspect B, who was attempting to withdraw cash at a bank branch in Jung-gu, Seoul, was also caught by the police. The key was a report from a bank employee stating, "A man in his early 30s speaking with a Chinese accent is trying to withdraw 50 million KRW from an account reported for illegal transactions." Upon receiving the report, the police arrived at the bank branch and caught the voice phishing criminal in the act. The suspect, a man in his 30s, is known to be a Chinese-Korean resident who has been staying in Korea long-term.

Voice phishing crimes have become even more rampant since COVID-19. According to the National Police Agency, the amount of damage caused by voice phishing from 2019 to last year reached 1.3398 trillion KRW. Last year alone, it was about 700 billion KRW, which is five times higher than in 2016. Professor Kwak Dae-kyung of Dongguk University’s Department of Police Administration said, "It is important to first suspect voice phishing, hang up the phone, and then call the relevant institution or acquaintances to verify." He added, "Financial institutions and public institutions rarely ask for money transfers over the phone. If damage occurs, you should report it to the police immediately."

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