A person in their 70s who nearly fell victim to voice phishing avoided harm with help from a lodging business owner. The owner used quick thinking and even managed to catch the voice-phishing pickup agent.
According to the Chuncheon Police Station in Gangwon on the 2nd, on the 30th a guest in their 70s, identified as A, arrived at a lodging facility in Chuncheon. During check-in, A appeared anxious, trembling and rambling.
Finding the guest's demeanor suspicious, the owner monitored the situation through closed-circuit (CC) TV. The footage showed A handing an item to a man in front of the business.
The owner immediately ran to the scene. The owner then grabbed B, in their 50s, who was about to receive the item, and called the police.
A police investigation found that members of a voice-phishing ring had impersonated financial institutions and police, deceiving A by saying, "Money may be withdrawn from the account, so it needs to be moved in advance," and attempted to extort funds. A had in fact withdrawn about 1.1 billion won in cashier's checks and was about to hand them to the courier, but the owner's quick thinking prevented the loss.
Police plan to present a letter of appreciation and a reward to the lodging business owner who helped apprehend B.