Thanks to the swift response by bank staff and police, the damage was averted at the last moment for a woman in her 70s who had been deceived by a "romance scam" and was about to send a large sum of money.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's mobile patrol unit said on the 15th that around 9 a.m. on the 8th, it responded to a report from a bank employee in Geumcheon District, Seoul, who became suspicious when a woman in her 70s, identified as A, tried to wire 27 million won overseas, and prevented the loss.
According to police, A recently received messages on social media (SNS) from an impostor posing as a "U.S. military officer about to retire." The impostor demanded money, saying, "I want to go to Korea to get married," and "I need courier expense and return travel expense." A, who lives alone, was taken in by the sweet talk and attempted the transfer.
Police who arrived at the scene confirmed that A was a typical victim of a romance scam, but A did not believe it was fraud, saying, "Why are you stopping me when I want to send my money to my boyfriend?" After about three hours of explaining real cases and methods used in such scams, officers were able to persuade A to stop the transfer.
A romance scam is a blend of "romance" and "scam," a criminal scheme in which a fraudster pretends to be a romantic partner, exchanges messages over a long period to build trust, and then demands money.
An official at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said, "Thanks to maintaining a close coordination system with financial institutions, we were able to block the damage early," and cautioned the public, noting that cases are frequent in which impostors pose as foreigners and demand investment or fronting delivery fees.