“I was fooled too.” Why was the voice phishing collector acquitted in court?

Voice phishing organization lures employment by disguising itself as an apartment investigation project
Court: “Fooled by the elaborate tactics of a voice phishing organization”

A man in his 40s who was put on trial on charges of working as a cash collector in a voice phishing organization is receiving attention after being found not guilty.

On June 24, the Seoul Eastern District Court's Criminal Division 1 (Chief Judge Park Hee-geun) acquitted Mr. A, in his 40s, who was indicted on fraud charges.

Mr. A was accused of receiving a check worth 105 million won from two voice phishing victims in May of last year and delivering it to a secondary collector.

Mr. A, who had been having difficulty making a living for a long time due to his chronic illness and the impact of COVID-19, registered his resume on a job search site to get a job.

Mr. A received an offer from a company official to conduct a real estate survey, signed an employment contract, performed actual related work, and received allowances.

Afterwards, Mr. A received additional instructions to collect the deposit for the apartment, went to the location, collected the envelope containing the check, and then delivered it to another collection agency, implicating him in a voice phishing crime.

The court stated the reason for the acquittal, saying, “Looking at the circumstances in which the defendant received a check without supporting documents and handed it to another person, the intention of fraud can be suspected. However, it is difficult to say that the evidence submitted by the prosecutor alone proves beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant colluded with a voice phishing organization or had an unwritten intention to commit fraud.”

He added, “Given the fact that the defendant conducted an apartment investigation for a considerable period of time and the circumstances in which he sensed something unusual and went to the police station immediately after the crime, there is a high possibility that the defendant, like the victims, was deceived by the sophisticated tactics of a voice phishing organization and carried out the collection.”

Attorney Park Seong-dong of Daeryun Law Firm (Yuhan), who was in charge of defending the case, pointed out, “Voice phishing crimes are becoming more sophisticated and sophisticated to the extent that it is difficult to know that you are involved in a crime unless you experience it yourself.” He added, “Even if you are wrongfully involved in the case, there are many cases in which you are punished because your willful negligence has been recognized.”

He explained, “In this case, it was proven in detail that the defendant was not aware of the fact that he was involved in a voice phishing crime, leading to a not guilty verdict.” He added, “In the case of voice phishing collection methods, proof of ‘intention’ is bound to have a significant impact on the court’s judgment of guilt or innocence.”

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