"Cash Withdrawal Customers Are Suspicious... Stop Voice Phishing Crimes"

Employee Repeatedly Urges Customer to Report... Ultimately Prevents Damage
Institutional Measures Established to Prevent Opening of Daepo Accounts

[Asia Economy Reporter Sim Nayoung] # On the afternoon of the 7th, a 65-year-old man named Jo visited the NH Nonghyup Bank headquarters branch in Seodaemun, Seoul. Suddenly, after canceling his housing subscription savings and deposit products, he requested cash payment. He then asked for the balance of his demand deposit account to be paid out in cash as well. Sensing something suspicious, the staff asked, "Sir, what is the purpose of this transaction?" but Jo evaded giving a clear answer.

Nevertheless, the staff did not give up. This time, they presented the 'Financial Fraud Prevention Checklist' to reconfirm whether the customer's transaction was targeted by financial fraud. Jo firmly insisted, "This is not voice phishing," and demanded cash payment. Eventually, he withdrew all the amounts from his accounts in cash. As Jo was leaving the bank, the staff repeatedly advised him, "If you find anything suspicious, please report it to the Seodaemun Police Station across the street."

The tail of the voice phishing deception was long. Jo was asked to visit a local agricultural cooperative to withdraw additional cash. Only then did Jo realize something was wrong and went to the police station to file a report, preventing further damage. After filing the report, Jo returned to the headquarters branch to express his gratitude.

NH Nonghyup Bank is making efforts to prevent voice phishing. In addition to voice phishing education for branch staff mentioned in the above case, the bank has established institutional measures to prevent the opening of mule accounts and to avoid involvement in voice phishing crimes. In February this year, the requirements for opening corporate accounts were strengthened. If a suspicious corporation meets four or more criteria, account opening is denied. To prevent the transfer of stolen funds through mule accounts (fraudulent accounts), a 'non-face-to-face channel' financial fraud prevention questionnaire system is also in place. When withdrawing more than 3 million KRW via Nonghyup’s Smart Banking or All One Bank, a questionnaire is conducted.

Attempts to make small deposits by entering specific records (Telegram IDs) have also been fundamentally blocked. This measure responds to scams where voice phishing victims’ funds are deposited in small amounts into any account using specific Telegram IDs, then transactions are suspended, and victims are asked to send money if they want to continue using the account. Since starting in April this year, a total of 664 cases have been blocked by the end of May.

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