Voice Phishing Custodial Sentence Reduction Case | Client Facing a Voice Phishing Custodial Sentence Obtains a Reduction to a Suspended Sentence

The circumstances under which the client came to face punishment for voice phishing are as follows.

In the end, the client was charged with having participated in a crime targeting multiple victims, and at the first instance he received a voice phishing custodial sentence of one year and six months of imprisonment, and the client sought to obtain a reduction through the appeal.

Voice phishing involves deceiving another person to extort property, and under the Criminal Act it constitutes “fraud.”

The client exchanged messages in real time with the unidentified persons of the voice phishing organization through the Telegram messenger.

In that process, only simple instructions such as account numbers, names, and resident registration numbers were repeated, and nothing suggesting voice phishing could be found.

Because voice phishing increasingly employs sophisticated methods of commission, the client had no idea that his own conduct was a type of voice phishing method, and the attorney therefore argued that intent could not be found.

The client argued that when he searched online for the company name the voice phishing organization members had written in the messenger, a casino business with a similar name appeared, and because the members also told him it was casino work, it was difficult to be suspicious.

In addition, the attorney argued that it is not an easy matter for a job applicant to actively demand or verify identity information regarding the actual existence of the business he is seeking to join, the employer, and the like.

The client used most of the money remaining after remitting it to the unidentified members of the voice phishing organization for expenses such as taxi fares, and the criminal proceeds he actually received amounted to about 900,000 won.

The attorney emphasized that, of that amount, 490,000 won was paid toward overdue mobile phone charges and 320,000 won toward interest on loan debt, so that most of it was used to cover living expenses.

Voice phishing crimes operate on an organizational basis, and in most cases the actual managerial members have fled abroad or have, from the outset, merely issued instructions from overseas.

Accordingly, those punished for voice phishing within the country are often part-time workers or homemakers who became involved in the crime without realizing it.

If you are booked on a charge of aiding and abetting fraud through voice phishing, like the client above, after acting as a cash courier, you cannot be relieved of criminal liability merely on the ground that you did not know it was voice phishing.

In such a case, rather than maintaining only the position that you “did not know” or that you “were wronged,” you should seek the legal assistance of an attorney specializing in this field from the early stages of the case in order to find factors that may lead to a reduced sentence.

At Daeryun Law Firm, attorneys with extensive experience handling voice phishing cases actively assist clients, so if you need help, you are welcome to visit at any time.