A 75-year-old woman narrowly avoided losing her life savings to a voice phishing scam this week, thanks to the sharp instincts of a taxi driver who sensed something was wrong.
According to Gwangju Bukbu Police Station, the woman, a resident of a convent in Yeonggwang, South Jeolla Province, received a call on Wednesday from a man posing as a Financial Supervisory Service official who convinced her that her bank account had been tied to criminal activity. Following the scammer’s instructions, she withdrew all her savings — 100 million won ($72,000) — and converted it into 487 grams of gold. She then took a taxi bound for a location in Buk-gu, Gwangju, where she was told to hand over the gold for "safekeeping."
During the ride, the driver overheard her phone conversation and became suspicious. When asked, the passenger said she was talking to her daughter, but he noticed that the voice on the phone was male.
Sensing a scam, the driver alerted police. Officers intercepted the vehicle and told her that she had most likely been targeted by a scam, allowing her to return home with the gold still in hand.
shinjh@heraldcorp.com
