Middleman who pocketed voice phishing scam money... 40-year-old housewife sentenced to prison

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] A housewife who acted as a withdrawal agent for voice phishing (telephone financial fraud) was sentenced to prison for embezzling the victim's money deposited into her bank account to repay her personal debts.

On the 22nd, Judge Kim Young-ah of the Criminal Division 10 at the Seoul Southern District Court announced that Kim (46), who was indicted on charges of aiding fraud and embezzlement, was sentenced to one year in prison with a three-year probation and ordered to perform 120 hours of community service.

On or around May 14, 2019, Kim received a proposal via KakaoTalk from a voice phishing group member impersonating a loan shark. The message stated, "Currently, you cannot get a loan due to your credit rating, but if you create transaction records using company funds, we will provide a loan," and "When money is deposited into your account, please withdraw it and hand it over to our staff."

Although Kim knew that the other party was not a loan shark and that they intended to use her bank account to receive voice phishing victim funds, she accepted the proposal and provided her account number. Two days later, she withdrew 9 million won sent by a victim deceived by the voice phishing and handed it over to the collector.

On May 31, about two weeks later, Kim received another request to act as a withdrawal agent. This time, the scammer impersonated a deputy manager of a certain savings bank and used the tactic of saying, "If you send a copy of your bankbook and three months of transaction history, we will provide a loan at a low interest rate."

Kim again accepted the voice phishing scammer's proposal and faxed copies of her bankbook and resident registration card.

Three days later, 5.9 million won was deposited into Kim's bank account. Of course, this money was not a loan from the savings bank. The scammer who borrowed Kim's account deceived the victim into depositing money there by claiming, "If you repay part of your existing loan first, we will refinance it at a low interest rate."

This time, Kim withdrew the money but did not hand it over to the collector; instead, she used it to repay her private loans. About 20 days later, on June 25, Kim withdrew 6 million won sent by another victim who was deceived by a similar voice phishing scam and used it for personal purposes.

The court pointed out, "The defendant had previously received a suspended indictment for aiding fraud using a similar method but still participated in voice phishing fraud and embezzled victim funds, showing a bad character."

However, the court explained the sentencing reasoning, stating, "Regarding the embezzlement charges, the defendant compensated the two victims and reached settlements, and from the investigation stage, she sincerely admitted her wrongdoing and showed remorse."