"Did You Follow Me All the Way Here?" Police Pursue Suspect Up Hallasan and Persuade Him, "Let Us Check Your Phone"

Seogwipo Police Prevent Voice Phishing Damage

Persuade Man in His 70s During Pursuit to Stop Transfer

Seong Suhwan and Jo Hyunsu, detectives at Seogwipo Police Station, are persuading a victim who was deceived by a voice phishing organization at the Eorimok parking lot in Hallasan, Jeju City, on the afternoon of the 14th. Seogwipo Police Station

Police managed to prevent a financial loss after a dramatic pursuit up Hallasan Mountain to rescue a man in his 70s who was about to transfer 100 million won, having fallen victim to a voice phishing scam.

According to the Seogwipo Police Station in Jeju on May 15, police officers met directly with a man in his 70s, identified as A, who resides in Seogwipo City and was facing imminent danger from a voice phishing crime at the Eorimok parking lot in Haean-dong, Jeju City, at around 2:45 p.m. on the 14th, successfully preventing the crime.

At the time, A had been deceived by a phishing organization that told him, "There has been a loss of more than 3 billion won using a card in your name, so asset protection and inspection are required," and he was about to transfer his assets to a specific account.

Previously, the National Police Agency identified victims of malicious app installations and forwarded the information to the specialized phishing crime response team at Seogwipo Police Station. Detectives Seong Suhwan and Jo Hyunsu immediately tried to contact A. However, A refused to meet with the officers, claiming, "I've never received a voice phishing call, and there is no problem."

As a result, the police began tracking A's location. At that time, A was hiking on Hallasan Mountain. The officers followed A and met him at the Eorimok parking lot, where they checked his mobile phone.

Upon inspection, it was found that A had been consolidating his bank deposits and other assets into a single account. Malicious apps and a remote control app had already been installed on A's mobile phone, and he was communicating in real time with the voice phishing organization through a social networking service (SNS) app.

After persistent persuasion, the police were able to delete the malicious apps and reset the mobile phone, thereby blocking any actual financial loss. Detective Seong Suhwan emphasized, "Early prevention is more important than catching the perpetrators after the fact," and advised, "Suspicious text links or remote control requests should be blocked immediately, and simply checking for malicious apps can prevent significant damage."

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