Non-face-to-face 'Open Banking' Flaw Exposes Account Details... "Like Leaving Fish to a Cat"
Busan Yeongdo Police Station Tracking Elderly Couple's 'Former Adopted Son' Raised for 40 Years
[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] In December 1980, 40 years ago, adopting the newborn baby of a minor unmarried mother was thought to be the beginning of happiness for the Choi couple.
A (male, in his 40s), who was adopted and raised, secretly withdrew 134 million won from the bank savings of his adoptive parents, Mr. Choi (73) and his wife Mrs. Park (64), and disappeared.
The child they raised for 40 years ran away after stealing the retirement funds that his parents had saved throughout their lives.
According to the Busan Yeongdo Police Station on the 25th, they are tracking A, who took out an unauthorized loan of 38.4 million won under the name of his former adoptive mother and withdrew 134 million won without permission from his former adoptive father's bank account.
A used the mobile phone and bankbook provided by his parents to exploit a loophole in the ‘Open Banking’ system.
This convenient service, which allows viewing accounts and making payments or transfers from multiple banks on a single bank’s website, turned out to be like ‘entrusting fish to a cat.’
The Choi couple, unaware of the situation, had loans executed with a credit card opened in their name, and two mobile phones were activated. The debt incurred from this reached 40 million won.
The fixed deposit of about 134 million won in Mr. Choi’s name was also withdrawn without permission and vanished without a trace.
The ‘son’ they cared for 40 years left a devilish wound on the elderly couple.
A’s crime was made possible by the weak non-face-to-face financial transaction system that can be easily breached with just identity verification.
The couple took in A, born to a minor unmarried mother in December 1980, gave him a name, registered his birth as their own child, and raised him.
However, he did not grow up as expected. Contrary to his parents’ hopes, A went in and out of prison several times. Unable to tolerate his reckless behavior, the Choi couple legally severed ties with their ‘son’ through a lawsuit in September 2018 while he was incarcerated.
However, their inability to cut off their affection became the root of the problem. When he was released in April last year, the ‘former parents,’ worried about his life, activated a mobile phone under Mrs. Choi’s name and also created a credit union bankbook and debit card for him.
The true nature was revealed again. A opened an account at an internet bank using the mobile phone. For non-face-to-face identity verification, he deceived them by saying, “I need documents to submit to the court,” and obtained a resident registration card.
The ‘Open Banking’ function, which allows a clear view of financial transactions, served as a ‘feast’ for A to choose his crimes.
A took out a total loan of 6 million won with a credit card and funneled it through the internet bank to the credit union account he was using.
He also embezzled 10 million won in loans from a capital company using the same method. Since everything was done non-face-to-face, it was not difficult to reissue a credit card by identity theft. He recklessly used cash services and various payment amounts. The money spent this way reached 9 million won.
A also took out various loans by forging the name of his ‘former father.’ He activated two mobile phones.
A even touched the retirement funds in the fixed deposit account under his former parents’ name. He embezzled 134 million won using the internet bank.
The couple found out about this late and filed a complaint against A at the Busan Yeongdo Police Station in July for forgery of private documents and other charges. The police are pursuing A.
The ‘goodwill’ that the Choi couple provided to their ‘former son’ will be judged in court.
Mr. Choi said, “Due to the weak non-face-to-face identity verification, we suffered financial damage without knowing the reason,” and filed a lawsuit at the Busan District Court against various financial institutions and mobile phone agencies to confirm the non-existence of debt.
The Choi couple’s one hope is that “financial institutions cannot completely deny responsibility just because the resident registration card was temporarily entrusted.”
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