Veteran Police Officer Who Knocked on the 'ATM' Entrance Door... Prevented Voice Phishing Suspect's Deposit

A CCTV captured the moment on the 15th when Sergeant Jeong Chan-oh, who was on his way to the hospital to receive a booster shot, spotted a voice phishing criminal transferring cash in front of an ATM booth at a bank in Yeonsan-dong, Busan. [Image source=Busan Police Agency]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] Jeong Chan-oh, a detective inspector and investigation examiner at Busan Yeonje Police Station, who has served 35 years in the police force, will retire in one year upon reaching the retirement age.

On the afternoon of the 15th, around 2:28 PM, he was on his way to a hospital to receive a COVID-19 booster shot.

Passing by a KB Bank ATM in Yeonsan-dong, Yeonje-gu, Detective Jeong’s keen instincts, honed through extensive investigative experience, may have triggered a ‘professional hazard.’

He noticed a young man stacking a considerable amount of 50,000 won bills on top of the cash deposit machine.

The man in his 20s, Mr. A, was repeatedly taking cash out of his pocket and counting it, even though he had already stacked bills on the ATM.

Detective Jeong’s instincts quickly turned into intuition and certainty. “He’s a voice phishing criminal.”

He immediately called 112 (emergency number). He also needed to stall until the police officers who were dispatched arrived at the scene. If the man transferred all the money, it might be impossible to prevent the damage.

Detective Jeong started banging on the ATM door.

“Hey young man, I’m in a hurry to withdraw money too.” When Mr. A stopped and turned around, Jeong shouted, “Why are you depositing so much money here?”

Flustered, Mr. A stopped the deposit and tried to leave but got into a scuffle with Detective Jeong, who kept questioning him.

While Detective Jeong was stalling, police officers from the Togok District Unit and detectives from the Yeonje Police Station’s violent crimes team had already arrived at the scene.

It was the moment when the voice phishing intermediary, Mr. A, was caught. He had deposited 2 million won out of the 24 million won he received from the victim into the ATM and was about to deposit the remaining amount.

According to the Busan Police Agency, the veteran officer who spent 26 of his 35 years in investigative departments caught a voice phishing criminal while on his way to get vaccinated. The precious money was able to be returned to the victim.