"I Came Because It Felt Strange": Woman Brings 100 Million Won in Gold to Police Station, What Happened?

Voice Phishing Ring Apprehended Thanks to Swift Police Response

The story of how the police prevented a voice phishing scam involving hundreds of millions of won has been made public. The victim was on her way to a meeting point with pure gold worth 100 million won, following instructions from a voice phishing organization. However, she sensed something was wrong and went to a local police station. Thanks to the police's swift response, the incident was resolved without any financial loss.

Gold worth 100 million won purchased by the victim after being deceived by a voice phishing gang member. National Police Agency YouTube

On January 13, a video titled "Just Before Delivering Gold Worth 100 Million Won" was uploaded to the YouTube channel of the National Police Agency of Korea. The footage shows a woman, identified as Ms. A, visiting a police station in Jecheon, North Chungcheong Province, in December of last year to ask for help.

Ms. A was on her way to meet Mr. B, who claimed to be a card delivery agent, carrying a paper bag containing pure gold worth 100 million won. However, she felt that the phone conversation and instructions were suspicious, so she decided to visit the police station.

Ms. A told the police, "I received a call from someone claiming to be a card delivery agent, who told me, 'Your personal information may have been leaked, so call the Financial Supervisory Service at 1332.' Otherwise, he said, 'Convert 100 million won of your assets into gold and let us inspect it, and the issue will be resolved.'" She requested help from the police.

Based on Ms. A's statement, the police suspected a voice phishing crime and launched an operation to apprehend the perpetrator. First, they deleted the malicious application installed on Ms. A's mobile phone, and then requested cooperation from the detective team to catch the criminal. Ms. A then arranged a meeting with the voice phishing money mule, and the police set up a stakeout at the agreed location.

A scene of police arresting a voice phishing gang member. National Police Agency YouTube

The voice phishing gang member appeared at the meeting point, and just as Ms. A was about to hand over the paper bag, police officers rushed in and apprehended the suspect.

The suspect denied the allegations, telling the police, "This is not voice phishing," but eventually admitted to the crime.

Online users commented, "She did the right thing by going to the police before falling victim to voice phishing," "It's a relief there was no financial loss," and "We support the police officers."