Their Life Savings of 1.5 Billion Won Nearly Lost in an Instant... Police Prevent Voice Phishing Scam Targeting Elderly Couple in Their 80s

After Installing Malicious App, Entire Savings Collected Into One Account
Transfer Halted Just in Time by Police Intervention

An elderly couple in their 80s, who nearly lost their entire life savings of 1.5 billion won to voice phishing, were able to avoid the scam thanks to the help of the police.

According to Yonhap News Agency and the Metropolitan Preventive Patrol Unit of the Gyeonggi Northern Provincial Police Agency on June 22, Mr. A, a man in his 80s living in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, received a phone call on June 15. The caller, claiming to be an employee of the local community center, said, "Someone has brought in a power of attorney, claiming that you wrote it for them. I'm calling to verify its authenticity." When Mr. A replied, "I have never written a power of attorney," the caller began to instill fear, warning, "It appears your personal information may have been leaked."

Notes written by victims deceived by voice phishing. Provided by Gyeonggi Northern Provincial Police Agency, Yonhap News Agency

Subsequently, Mr. A received a series of phone calls from people impersonating the Financial Supervisory Service and the prosecution. They deceived him by saying, "Your bank account has been linked to a crime and you are already under investigation as a suspect." During this process, Mr. A was persuaded to install a malicious application on his mobile phone that enabled remote control. When Mr. A accessed the Supreme Prosecutors' Office website from his mobile device and searched for his information, he found his name and a case number listed there. Unbeknownst to him, it was a fake site created by the criminal organization through the malicious app, leaving Mr. A no choice but to believe the scam.

Eventually, the couple believed the scammers' claim that "In order to undergo an investigation, you must first verify whether the money in your account has been used for criminal activity. You should prepare to transfer it." Based on this, they consolidated their entire savings of 1.5 billion won into a single account and were preparing to transfer the funds. At that moment, the police, who were monitoring mobile phones with records of accessing malicious sites or having malicious apps installed, identified Mr. A and dispatched officers to his location.

The police officers who met the couple removed the malicious app and froze the account, stopping the money transfer just in time and preventing financial loss. Initially, the couple were distrustful of the officers, only realizing later that they had been deceived. The couple expressed their gratitude, saying, "We never imagined we could fall victim to voice phishing. It was our entire life savings, and thanks to the officers, we were able to keep it. We will be grateful and remember this for the rest of our lives."

The 'targeted phishing crime prevention activities' of the Metropolitan Preventive Patrol Unit were developed in response to the fact that voice phishing crimes often begin with the installation of malicious apps or access to malicious websites. Since February 20, these activities have blocked voice phishing damage for more than 400 victims.

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