"I believed it was under the bank's name..." The trap of virtual accounts [Joseon Phishing Chronicles]

A, who lives in a provincial area, was recently looking into loans to cover living expenses. However, due to the large amount of existing debt, it was not easy to get through to a bank.
Mr. A happened to see an online advertisement offering "low-interest refinancing" and applied for a consultation.According to the Financial Supervisory Service on the 3rd, a few days later, Mr. A received a call from Mr.B, who identified himself as a loan consultant. The consultant explained to Mr.A, "It is possible to proceed with a product from △△ Bank," adding, "Transaction history is required to consolidate existing loans and improve creditworthiness. " He continued, "I will assign you a virtual account; if you deposit approximately 3 million won into that account, the low-interest loan will be executed immediately." Suspicious, Mr. A tried to verify the details directly with the bank, but the consultant urged him to hurry, leaving him no time to do so."If you do not proceed now, the limit will be exhausted," the consultant told him to make a decision quickly. They also reassured him by sending documents, such as the loan agreement, via text message.
In particular, since the account holder's name for the deposit was displayed as a financial company name like "○○ Payment (△△ Bank)" rather than an individual's, he couldn't help but mistake it for a legitimate financial account. Due to the consultant's persistent urging, Mr.A eventually deposited several million won into the virtual account he was instructed to use. He expected the loan to be approved now, but the consultant demanded an additional deposit, claiming, "You must deposit an additional amount as a security deposit." Mr. A felt something was off and protested, but the promised loan was never executed.Eventually, contact with the consultant was also cut off. The account in question was a virtual account managed by a fraud organization, and Mr.A ended up losing millions of won. The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) recently warned that there have been numerous cases where financial fraudsters are using virtual accounts as a means to withdraw criminal funds.They explained that there are instances where deposits are induced into virtual accounts under the guise of product transactions, or funds are embezzled by inducing transfers under the pretext of low-interest loans or credit score improvements. An FSS official stated, "Virtual accounts are legitimate transaction methods used for various purposes, such as paying credit card bills and making payments at online shopping malls, but if misused, they can be utilized as a channel for the movement and concealment of criminal funds." The official added, "You should suspect fraud if you are asked to deposit money into a virtual account under a different name from the counterparty or a virtual account that is mistaken for the name of a financial institution. " Advised.
There are people who lose not only their money but their very lives with a single phone call.There are people who lose not only their money but their very lives with a single phone call.
zoom@fnnews.com Lee Ju-mi Reporter