A car rental company that targeted inexperienced or female drivers for scams had been caught by the police.

According to the Suwon Seobu Police on Wednesday, the company allegedly scratched its own cars to blackmail unsuspecting customers.

The police arrested two representatives of the company and indicted its four employees, without detention, for blackmail and extortion.

During the time the company was in service between May 2016 and March 2017, the six suspects extorted nearly 100 million won ($87,800) from roughly 220 customers on the pretext of car repair costs. 

The suspects reportedly intimidated the victims, such as by threatening to sue them.

The police is looking into the now-defunct company’s accounts and CCTV footage to see if there were more victims.

By Im Eun-byel (silverstar@heraldcorp.com)