Jeonnam Anjwa Post Office Prevents Voice Phishing Victimization of Elderly in Their 80s

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] Recently, post office employees in the Jeonnam region have been gaining attention for repeatedly preventing financial fraud damage.

In June, an employee at Sorok Post Office in Goheung-gun blocked a voice phishing attempt of 100 million won by someone impersonating a Financial Supervisory Service official. This time, at Anjwa Post Office in Sinan-gun, they protected 30 million won of assets belonging to an elderly customer in their 80s.

According to the Jeonnam Regional Post Office, Mr. A, a resident of Sinan-gun, visited Anjwa Post Office on the 15th of last month and requested to cancel a deposit of 30 million won, saying it would be used for interior renovation costs and pocket money.

Observing Mr. A’s anxious behavior and phone calls, Director Choi Soo-yeon and Officer Lee Jun-hyun were certain it was voice phishing and delayed the withdrawal of the deposit.

At the same time, they informed Mr. A about financial fraud cases and the recent surge of scam calls in the Anjwa area. Mr. A understood his exposure to financial fraud and confided his situation.

Mr. A had received a call from a man claiming to be a post office employee, stating that a package was returned and personal information had been leaked. He was then connected to another man for follow-up measures.

The man, introducing himself as a prosecutor’s office employee, asked Mr. A about his deposit status and warned that the 30 million won in his post office account was at risk of being stolen, instructing him to withdraw cash.

He advised Mr. A to explain the reason for canceling the deposit as interior renovation costs and pocket money if asked by the post office, but to keep the situation strictly confidential. Following these instructions, Mr. A attempted to visit the post office to cancel the deposit while on the phone with the man claiming to be a prosecutor’s office employee.

This was a typical voice phishing method impersonating a public institution employee. Director Choi and Officer Lee recognized this and prevented the damage. They also informed the Anjwa Police Station about the financial fraud attempt to protect other residents from harm.

On the 16th, Mr. A repeatedly expressed his gratitude, saying, "I almost lost 30 million won, but thanks to the post office employees, I was able to protect the savings I had carefully accumulated."

Director Choi said, "We will continue to familiarize ourselves with financial fraud cases and strive to protect the valuable assets of customers who visit the post office."

Song Gwan-ho, head of the Jeonnam Regional Post Office, encouraged the two employees who prevented financial fraud damage and stated, "We will continuously carry out public campaigns and educational promotional activities to prevent voice phishing crimes and eradicate the occurrence of forged bank accounts."

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