Brazen Voice Phishing Scammer... Started Losing Money on the Spot

12,272 Voice Phishing Cases in the Last 7 Months
'Daemyeonpyeonchi' Crime Type Accounts for 77%
"Must Block the Means Used for the Crime Itself," Advice Given

Seong Dohyun (68, pseudonym), a resident of Dobong-gu, Seoul, recently received a text message stating that money had been withdrawn overseas and hurriedly called the number. A person identifying himself as a card company counselor, Mr. A, said he would report the case to the prosecution on his behalf due to concerns about financial crime. About four minutes later, Prosecutor B from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office called and instructed, "I will send you a link; please click it to check your card usage details." He also suggested, "Since your phone might have been hacked, call the Financial Supervisory Service and temporarily deposit the money." Mr. Seong called the Financial Supervisory Service himself and handed over 75 million won to Mr. C, an employee who came to his home. However, A, B, and C were all members of a telecommunications financial fraud (voice phishing) gang working together, and the call to the Financial Supervisory Service was intercepted by the criminal organization using a 'call interception method.'

Jang Yeonim (76, pseudonym), living in Guro-gu, Seoul, recently received a threatening call saying, "Your son is being held captive because he hasn't repaid a private loan," demanding 50 million won. Along with threats to kill her son if she hung up, she was also asked to withdraw cash from a bank and come to a designated location. Ms. Jang withdrew 10 million won in cash from a nearby bank and handed it to a middle-aged woman waiting in a secluded residential area in Dongjak-gu. Ms. Jang lamented, "Although I didn't lose the full 50 million won, it is very frustrating to have been deceived into handing over money."

Financial fraud schemes that previously only demanded simple account transfers are evolving into face-to-face extortion at the scene. As criminal methods become increasingly sophisticated, messenger phishing damages are also rapidly increasing. Given the high demand for financial and loan services, financial consumers need to exercise special caution.

According to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency on the 24th, from February 26 to September 23, there were 12,272 cases of telecommunications financial fraud. The most common crime type was face-to-face extortion with 9,475 cases (77%). This means that more than 7 out of 10 voice phishing victims handed over money directly to criminals at the scene. Lee Beomju, a supervisor of the Financial Crime Investigation Unit at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, pointed out, "Despite real-time changes in criminal methods, inter-agency responses remain somewhat inadequate."

Face-to-face extortion refers to a method where victims are lured via phone calls or text messages and then met in person to hand over money. Criminals impersonate prosecutors or police, transport victims in vehicles disguised as investigation cars to seize money, or threaten victims by claiming involvement in illegal loans and demanding quick repayment in cash to avoid disadvantages. It is also common to use intermediaries such as ethnic Koreans from China (Joseonjok) in secluded residential areas to collect money.

Face-to-Face Extortion Type Soars from 7.5% to 77% in Two Years

Typically, voice phishing crimes mostly involved 'account transfer types' where victims were coerced to deposit money into specific accounts. In 2018, account transfer types accounted for 89.7% of all voice phishing crimes. Face-to-face extortion types were only 7.5%. However, in the recent seven months, account transfer types accounted for only about 10% with 1,251 cases. Other methods inducing check card or gift certificate payments recorded 1,546 cases (13%).

The face-to-face extortion method appears to be thriving to evade crime prevention measures. The government, financial authorities, and financial institutions have implemented systems such as suspension of fraudulent fund payments and delayed withdrawals, making it difficult to cash out money even if the crime succeeds through account transfers.

Messenger phishing using social networking services (SNS) is also rapidly increasing. Last year, there were 12,402 cases of messenger phishing with damages amounting to 57.64 billion won. Compared to the previous year, the number of cases increased by 6,738 (121.0%) from 5,664, and the amount increased by 38.53 billion won (201.6%) from 19.11 billion won.

The main methods mostly involved impersonating family or acquaintances and inducing conversations through messenger applications (apps). Common tactics included requesting proxy payments, urgent loans, gift certificate purchases with PIN numbers, or attempting to install malicious files via remote control apps or links.

Supervisor Lee Beomju advised, "To prevent damage, institutional improvements must accompany efforts, but the pattern is that institutional improvements are implemented only after new or variant methods emerge. To prevent additional criminal damage and eradicate crime, efforts to block the means of crime itself are necessary."