Park In-hwan (박인환), head of the Postal Service, visited the Chuncheon Hupyeong 3-dong Post Office on April 3 and encouraged an employee who recently prevented additional losses from a voice phishing scam.

The Postal Service said on April 6 that on March 24 a man in his 70s visited the post office and applied for a loan against an insurance refund to pay taxes to recover investment funds. An employee who found it suspicious recognised it as a common investment scam and, by persuading the customer and reporting it to police, prevented further losses.

The case involved a method in which scammers pose as professional investors, take victims' remittances and show fictitious profits on a fake stock trading app. They then attempt further theft by demanding additional investment and tax payments.

Park said post offices also need to join recent wide-ranging efforts by government agencies and the financial sector to prevent voice phishing. He urged frontline post office employees to take active efforts and pay close attention.

A Postal Service official said victims often do not realise what is happening when they are targeted by voice phishing. The official urged people to use various prevention services provided by police and the financial sector and to report cases to police.