A cash collector for a phone financial scam (voice phishing) was apprehended by police after being reported by a taxi driver.
The Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency announced on the 30th that it had arrested a man in his 30s, referred to as Mr. A, on suspicion of fraud as a cash collector for a voice phishing operation.
According to police, Mr. A is accused of receiving 11.7 million won in cash from a victim in his 50s, referred to as Mr. B, on a road in Jangyu-dong, Gimhae, at around 5 p.m. on the 23rd.
He became involved in the crime as a cash collector for a voice phishing organization after seeing an advertisement on a part-time job recruitment site in April of this year.
Traveling by taxi from Daegu to Gimhae, he asked the taxi driver to wait for a while, saying he would soon return to Daegu, and then met with Mr. B to collect the money.
Finding the situation suspicious, the taxi driver reported Mr. A to the police. Officers from the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Mobile Patrol Unit and the Gimhae Western Police Station responded to the scene and arrested Mr. A.
It was determined that Mr. B was targeted after receiving a scam call offering to refinance his existing high-interest loan with a low-interest loan.
The police are investigating whether Mr. A has previously committed similar crimes as a voice phishing cash collector.
The taxi driver who reported the incident will be awarded a certificate of appreciation and a reward for reporting the crime.
An official from the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency stated, "Recently, there have been many cases where people, after being contacted by voice phishing organization members through online job sites, impersonate financial institutions and participate in crimes as cash collectors. Even if you are unaware of the full extent of the crime, you may still be punished as an accomplice, so please be extremely cautious."
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