Man in His 30s Duped by Fake Prosecutor Self-Confines in Motel, Writes 45 Pages of Remorse

Transferred 31 million won in loan proceeds to the ring
Rescued after three days following police outreach over concerns he was at risk

A man in his 30s, identified only as Mr. A, was rescued with police help after being tricked by a voice phishing ring and kept alone in a motel for three days.

The motel where Mr. A was isolated for three days. Provided by the Gyeonggi Northern Provincial Police Agency.

On the 28th, the Gyeonggi Northern Police Agency's Metropolitan Preventive Patrol Unit said it had rescued Mr. A, a voice phishing victim, from a motel in Gangdong-gu, Seoul, on the 22nd and prevented an additional loss of 42 million won.

On the 20th, while at work in Gyeonggi Province, Mr. A received a phone call from someone claiming to be a prosecutor with the Public Prosecution Office. The caller said an account opened in Mr. A's name had been used in a crime and that a warrant for his arrest had been issued.

The ring lured Mr. A to a motel in Gangdong-gu, Seoul, saying it would arrange for him to undergo a summary investigation instead of being sent to a detention center. There, he was forced to write a letter of remorse except when eating or sleeping. Over three days, Mr. A wrote a letter of remorse equivalent to about 45 sheets of A4 paper in his phone's memo app.

During this process, the ring made Mr. A buy another phone and install a remote-control malware app to monitor his calls. It also told him to take out a loan for an investigation to trace his accounts, received 31 million won from him, and then demanded that he take out another loan.

At one point, Mr. A called the Financial Supervisory Service to verify the claims, but a member of the ring answered. A call he believed had come from the 112 emergency line was also found to have been made by a member of the ring.

Police received contact details from the Integrated Response Team for Telecommunications Financial Fraud for people at high risk of becoming victims because malware was suspected on their phones and they were difficult to reach. Mr. A was among those contacted. However, believing the ring's claim that "police who call from a mobile phone number are fake," he became suspicious of the actual police officer and tried to end the call.

The officer contacted him several times, explained the proper procedures used by investigative agencies, and urged him to go to a nearby police station. The officer also tried to persuade Mr. A by letting him hear police radio traffic.

After confirming that Mr. A was staying at the motel and waiting for approval of an additional loan of 42 million won, police requested assistance from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. Officers went to the motel where Mr. A was being held, contacted the financial company to stop the loan approval process, and rescued him.

At the time, Mr. A had been isolated in the motel for nearly 50 hours. Police tried to freeze the account to which he had previously transferred 31 million won, but all the money had already been withdrawn.

A police official said, "This case shows how officers prevented further losses when a victim, under the constant threats and psychological control of a phishing ring, could not even trust the identity of actual police officers." The official urged the public, "If you find yourself in a suspicious situation, do not follow the other person's instructions and call 112 immediately."

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