▲ Voice Phishing
"A registered mail has arrived."
Mr. A, an office worker in his 30s living in Sejong, received a call from an unknown number on the 10th of July [INDEX].
A man who introduced himself as a court clerk told Mr. A that he was involved in a crime and asked him to choose whether to receive the related registered mail at home or view it electronically.
Flustered, Mr. A opted for the electronic viewing, thinking he did not want to cause worry to his parents.
When he clicked the link sent by the man, prosecutor's office documents containing a case number and Mr. A's name popped up.
The documents stated that a "secret account" had been secretly opened under Mr. A's name and used in a crime.
Soon after, a man claiming to be a prosecutor from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office called to inform him of this, instructing Mr. A to buy a used, unactivated mobile phone, transfer his USIM card into it, and install a remote control app.
Intimidated, Mr. A followed his instructions.
When Mr. A failed to accurately state the size of his assets, the prosecutor pressed him, saying he made "false statements," and cornered him by adding, "If you do not receive a summary indictment today, you will be dragged off to a detention center."
Frightened, Mr. A was told by the prosecutor to stay at a nearby hotel under the pretext of "buying some time."
Once checked into the hotel, Mr. A could not step outside for a week.
From the first day he received the call until the 16th, when he finally stepped out of the room, he was required to report his status every hour under the guise of an investigation, and was even coerced into writing statements of reasons and letters of reflection.
Mr. A stated that because the organization members interrogated him every hour, he had no time to suspect it was a scam.
He added that he never thought to notify those around him out of concern that his parents would worry.
Just as his fear intensified, a person claiming to be a Financial Supervisory Service manager induced Mr. A to deposit money, saying, "You need to move your money to a safe account." Following his words, Mr. A transferred his entire fortune of 135.9 million won across ten separate occasions.
The FFS manager was also a voice phishing ring member.
Under the scammers' lies that "we need to catch an accomplice among the bank clerks, so take out a loan; the debt will be restored to normal once the investigation ends," Mr. A also took out 87 million won in loans.
Fortunately, the funds were not withdrawn due to a bank account freeze, but the ring members brainwashed Mr. A by telling him that whenever the bank, suspicious of abnormal transactions, made a confirmation call or blocked his account, "that is also interference from an accomplice."
After a week of confinement, an anxious Mr. A checked the Korea Information System for Criminal Justice (KICS) app and only realized it was a scam when he confirmed that the case number in the prosecution documents he received was fake.
The individuals claiming to be a court clerk, prosecutor, and FFS manager were all members of a voice phishing syndicate, and Mr. A had fallen victim to a new "self-confinement" method that lures victims to lodging establishments to prevent them from leaving on their own.
It is a tactic that psychologically corners victims and blocks external contact so they cannot suspect voice phishing.
Mr. A reported the damage to the Sejong Nambu Police Station on the 18th of July, and an investigation is currently underway.
"When someone who has never been investigated is told by a 'prosecutor' about a detention center, they have no choice but to do as they are told," he said. "It's not just particularly naive people or those lacking financial knowledge who fall victim; if they pierce your most vulnerable moment, anyone can become a victim."
Police urged caution, noting that voice phishing cases involving "self-confinement" similar to Mr. A's have been occurring consecutively recently.
In fact, in November of last year, a man in his 40s who was confined for over 10 days after being deceived by a syndicate impersonating the Supreme Prosecutors' Office handed over 620 million won worth of gold bars, and in February of this year, a man in his 40s locked inside a one-room apartment in Daegu for a week narrowly avoided damage when police arrived following a report from an acquaintance just as he was about to wire 1.8 billion won.
A police official urged, "If you are instructed to cut off contact with family and acquaintances and stay alone in a specific location, please report it to the police immediately."
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