Jeju Police Agency Warns Against 'Institution Impersonation Phone Financial Fraud'

[Jeju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Hwang Jeongpil] Recently, there has been an increase in ‘institution impersonation phone financial fraud,’ highlighting the need for heightened caution.

According to the Jeju Police Agency on the 1st, the recent type of phone financial fraud was mostly ‘loan fraud’ promising low-interest refinancing loans until July, but since last month, ‘institution impersonation’ frauds pretending to be national institutions such as the prosecution or the Financial Supervisory Service have been on the rise.

Institution impersonation phone financial fraud exploits the fact that most ordinary people have no experience with investigations by law enforcement agencies, using coercive voices to threaten and confuse victims.

Additionally, malicious ‘interception’ apps are secretly installed on victims’ mobile phones, so even if victims call the investigation agency, the call is intercepted and disguised as if it is from the investigation agency, making it inevitable for victims to be deceived.

In fact, in mid-last month, a suspect impersonating a prosecutor from 00 District Prosecutor’s Office was arrested and detained in Seoul for receiving a total of 350 million KRW in three installments by deceiving victims into handing over money to a Financial Supervisory Service employee, claiming that bank employees were withdrawing money from their accounts during an investigation related to dummy accounts. This was a ‘face-to-face extortion type phone financial fraud’ case.

The Jeju police plan to continue collaborating with financial institutions and related agencies to conduct preventive publicity and tracking activities for arrests to eradicate ‘phone financial fraud’ that victimizes ordinary citizens.

Since last year, to eradicate face-to-face extortion type voice phishing, dedicated tracking teams for face-to-face extortion type voice phishing have been formed and operated in the criminal divisions of each police station.

A Jeju police official stated, “Investigation agencies never send official documents such as warrants or summons for investigation via social networking services (SNS) or mobile text messages,” and added, “Please remember that no investigation or financial institution will ever ask you to withdraw cash or transfer money to another account under the pretext of an investigation.”

He continued, “To prevent phone financial fraud, if you receive suspicious calls or messages, please consult with people around you or report directly to 112 to verify whether it is a crime,” and “If you witness multiple attempts to withdraw or deposit cash at financial institutions or observe cash being exchanged, we urge you to actively report or tip off to 112.”

Jeju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Hwang Jeongpil baekok@asiae.co.kr

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