Man in his 60s caught after swindling small-business owners with fake group-reservation ruse

A man in his 60s has been arrested for defrauding small-business owners by posing as a potential group-reservation customer, borrowing small amounts of cash and then disappearing.

The Uijeongbu Police Station in Gyeonggi Province booked the man, identified only as A, on fraud charges and sent him to prosecutors in detention.

A is accused of swindling about 3 million won ($2,210) from nine people — including small-business owners and convenience store employees in the Uijeongbu area — over roughly a month starting in July.

He typically visited restaurants and other establishments, telling owners he wanted to make a group reservation. He would then claim he only had a check on him and needed cash, promising to return in the evening to pay for the meal and repay the loan. Investigators found he used this scheme to trick victims into handing over around 100,000 won each.

Business owners lent him the money believing they stood to earn significant sales from the promised group booking.

A also adapted his approach depending on the victim's circumstances.

At one convenience store, he told a part-time worker that his wife was ill and he needed money for hospital bills, promising to repay it immediately. He persuaded the worker to transfer 900,000 won to his bank account.

A spent the money on living expenses and returned to the scheme whenever he ran out of funds. He had committed the same type of fraud in 2023, was booked and detained, and was released in December last year before reoffending.

Police reviewed CCTV footage and bank transaction records based on victim reports, confirmed additional offenses and took A into custody before sending him to prosecutors in detention.