A Job-Seeking 20s Victim of Voice Phishing... Ultimately Chooses Extreme Measures

Published 12 Feb.2020 13:52(KST)

Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Yeon-ju] A job-seeking person in their 20s who suffered a loss of 4.3 million won due to telephone financial fraud (voice phishing) made an extreme choice, prompting the police to launch an investigation.

The Sunchang Police Station in Jeonbuk announced on the 12th that A (28) was found dead in an apartment in Sunchang on the 22nd of last month.

According to the police, two days before A’s extreme choice, on the 20th of last month, A received a call from a man impersonating a prosecutor from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. The call stated that A’s account was involved in a large-scale financial fraud, so A needed to withdraw money first and would be reimbursed after the investigation was completed.

The man even sent a fabricated prosecutor’s ID and business card to reassure A.

He threatened A by saying that if the call was disconnected, A would be punished under current law.

Following the man’s instructions, A withdrew 4.3 million won from a bank in Jeongeup and took the KTX to deliver the money to a community center in Seoul.

The man told A to wait at a nearby cafe and then fled with the money.

A realized that they had been a victim of voice phishing, suffered from guilt, and reportedly made the extreme choice two days later.

The police are pursuing the voice phishing organization and investigating the connection between the crime and A’s extreme choice.

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