Voice phishing organization members who deceived a woman in her 70s by posing as prosecutors and Financial Supervisory Service officials and stole hundreds of millions of won in checks have been caught by the police.

According to the police on Tuesday (August 19), the Seoul Gangnam Police Station recently booked three suspects—a man in his 50s who worked as a cash collector and two men in their 40s who worked as delivery accomplices—on charges of violating the Special Act on Prevention of Losses from Telecommunications-based Financial Fraud, and is tracking down the higher-ups of the organization.

They are accused of contacting a woman in her 70s, surnamed A, in early July, impersonating prosecutors and Financial Supervisory Service officials, and taking checks worth a total of 350 million won.

Investigations revealed that they defrauded Ms. A by deceiving her with claims that "your bank account has been involved in crime as a burner account, so you must convert the entire balance into checks."

After receiving a report from the victim last month, the police placed a payment suspension at the bank for 200 million won worth of checks that the suspects had not yet cashed, and apprehended one of the delivery accomplices in his 40s by analyzing CCTV footage.

It was found that the man in his 50s who directly collected the money from the victim and another delivery accomplice had already been arrested in connection with other voice phishing cases.

The police plan to thoroughly investigate the scale and operation methods of the organization through the suspects.

They are also tracking down the whereabouts of the mastermind who planned the crime.

(Photo: Yonhap News)