[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] A man in his 20s who threatened victims by claiming to have kidnapped their family members, extorted money from them, and handed it over to a voice phishing organization was sentenced to prison.
The Chuncheon District Court Criminal Division 2 (Presiding Judge Park Jin-young) announced on the 26th that it sentenced Mr. A (22), who was indicted on fraud charges, to 3 years and 6 months in prison.
The court stated the sentencing reasons, saying, "The defendant participated in the fraudulent activities of the voice phishing organization, collected cash from the victims, and delivered it to another organization, which is a very serious offense. Considering the significant scale of the damage and the fact that the harm to six of the victims has not been recovered at all."
Previously, Mr. A, who was a courier for an overseas voice phishing organization, met victim Mr. B at around 11:38 a.m. on November 26 on a road in Geumcheon-gu, Seoul, and pretended that Mr. B’s grandson had been kidnapped. He received 50 million won in cash in two installments and delivered it to members of the voice phishing organization, leading to his prosecution.
Investigations confirmed that earlier at around 9:15 a.m., victim Mr. B was deceived by a threatening phone call from a Chinese voice phishing organization call center employee who said, "Your grandson stood as a guarantor for a friend, but the friend ran away, and we have your grandson. If you do not bring 50 million won, we will sell your grandson’s organs."
Moreover, it was found that Mr. A embezzled a total of 160 million won from eight victims across the country using similar methods and handed the money over to members of the voice phishing organization.
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