"Thought It Was Mine"... Clothing Store Owner Secretly Spends 12.5 Million Won Using Customer's Card Number

Store Owner Who Wrote Down Customer Credit Card Number
Charged Approximately 12.5 Million Won Over 36 Transactions

A business owner in his 60s was fined after writing down a credit card number given by a store customer and using it to purchase goods worth approximately 12.5 million won.

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According to the legal community on the 30th, Judge Jeong Ji-eun of the Changwon District Court Criminal Division 2 sentenced Mr. A (67), who was indicted for violating the Specialized Credit Finance Business Act, to a fine of 7 million won. Mr. A, who runs a clothing store, is accused of secretly purchasing goods worth about 12.5 million won in 36 transactions using the credit card information under the name of customer Mr. B from September 2022 to June last year.

In September 2022, Mr. B visited the store and presented his credit card for payment. Mr. A wrote down the card number and expiration date and later committed the crime. Mr. A denied the charges, claiming he thought it was his own credit card and had no intent, but the court did not accept this.

Judge Jeong explained the sentencing, saying, "The card under Mr. A’s name was only usable for lump-sum payments due to unpaid national taxes, but most payments made with Mr. B’s card were on six-month installments, indicating that Mr. A was fully aware it was someone else’s credit card." He added, "Considering that Mr. A used another person’s card dozens of times and the seriousness of the offense, the sentence was determined accordingly."