Busan Bank employee uses quick thinking to prevent telecom fraud victimization

In Busan, a customer in his 70s claimed to want to invest in stocks and virtual assets and attempted to withdraw a large amount of cash. Thanks to the quick alert from the bank staff, a voice phishing scam impersonating the Financial Supervisory Service was successfully prevented.

According to the Busan Saha Police Station, on the 10th of this month, Mr. A, in his 70s, went to the Kookmin Bank branch in Sangha-dong, Busan, to withdraw 75 million won in cash. At that time, bank employee B asked about the purpose of the funds, and Mr. A responded that he planned to invest in stocks and cryptocurrencies. However, the elderly customer suddenly wanted to withdraw a large sum of cash for investment, which was far from a typical financial transaction, prompting the staff to suspect irregular signs.

B did not see this as a simple cash withdrawal but immediately reported it to the police. Subsequent investigations revealed that Mr. A had received a call from a voice phishing organization impersonating the Financial Supervisory Service and was eager to withdraw cash. In particular, the investigation showed that scammers induced victims to explain to the bank that the purpose was stock or virtual asset investment to conceal their true intentions. Recently, voice phishing scams have been evolving, using impersonations of public or financial institutions to create panic and then trick victims into withdrawing cash themselves.

This case demonstrates that initial responses at bank counters are crucial in actually preventing victimization. Voice phishing organizations not only use remote control via mobile phones, forge investigation documents, and impersonate official calls, but also often fabricate seemingly normal reasons for investment or asset transfers to avoid suspicion. Therefore, on-site judgment by bank staff, considering factors such as the customer’s age, transaction scale, withdrawal method, and the naturalness of explanations, plays a role as the final safety net.

The Busan Saha Police Station plans to award a commendation to the bank staff who prevented the victimization. In the future, financial institutions and investigative agencies are likely to strengthen verification procedures during large cash withdrawals or abnormal fund movements. This trend indicates that, as voice phishing methods become increasingly sophisticated, cooperation between banks and police will become even more important to protect financial consumers.