Man in 30s Who Took Paid Leave to Stay at Motel and Wrote 45 Pages of 'Reflection Letters' Rescued from Voice Phishing

A man in his 30s who was isolated alone in a motel for three days after being deceived by a voice phishing organization impersonating prosecutors has been rescued following police persuasion.

The Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police Agency announced today (October 28) that it rescued a man in his 30s, surnamed A, who was a voice phishing victim, at a motel in Gangdong-gu, Seoul, on October 22, preventing an additional financial loss of 42 million won.

On October 20, Mr. A, who works at an office in the Gyeonggi region, received a phone call.

The caller, introducing himself as a prosecutor from the Public Prosecutor's Office, claimed that an account under Mr. A's stolen identity was used in a crime and that an arrest warrant had been issued.

The syndicate member told him not to inform anyone around him and lured Mr. A to a motel in Gangdong-gu, Seoul, under the pretext of granting convenience so he could undergo a summary investigation instead of entering a detention center.

Believing this, Mr. A took paid leave from work, claiming an urgent matter had arisen, and headed to the motel.

During this process, the organization made Mr. A purchase an additional mobile phone and install a remote-control malicious app, thereby controlling even his phone calls.

Mr. A attempted to make a verification call to the Financial Supervisory Service, but a syndicate member actually answered the phone, and even the call believed to have come from 112 was made by a syndicate member, the police explained.

While staying at the motel, he was forced to write letters of reflection.

Mr. A wrote about 45 A4-sized pages of reflection letters on his mobile phone notepad over the three days.

Except for some time for meals and sleep, he was required to continue writing, and the syndicate members reportedly had him send the contents frequently for review.

The organization even conducted voice phishing prevention training, claiming it was necessary to prove that Mr. A was a victim.

Later, under the guise of an investigation to trace accounts, they made him take out loans, transferred 31 million won, and even demanded additional loans.

The police received contact information of individuals at high risk of being victimized—who were suspected of installing malicious apps and were out of reach—from the joint response team for telecommunications-based financial fraud.

Mr. A was one of them.

Afterwards, the police called Mr. A, but Mr. A tried to hang up.

Believing the syndicate's claim that police officers contacting him by mobile phone number were fake, he was suspicious of the actual police officers.

The police officer called him multiple times to explain the normal working procedures of investigative agencies and advised him to visit the nearest police station.

They persuaded Mr. A by playing the sound of police radio transmissions.

Confirming that Mr. A was staying at a motel and waiting for approval for an additional loan of 42 million won, the police requested cooperation from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.

Then, while heading to the scene, they contacted the financial company to request the suspension of the loan approval process, arrived at the motel, and rescued Mr. A.

At the time, Mr. A had been isolated in the motel for nearly 50 hours.

The police also attempted to suspend payments on the 31 million won already transferred, but the money had already been completely withdrawn.

A police official stated that this was a case where police officers' response prevented additional damage in a situation where the victim could not even trust the identity of actual police officers due to the phishing crime organization's continuous threats and psychological control, while urging citizens not to follow instructions from the other party in suspicious situations and to immediately report to 112.

(Photo provided by Gyeonggi Bukbu Provincial Police Agency, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.