5 Years in Prison Demanded for in His 20s Who Falsified Caller IDs to '010' Under Phishing Ring Orders

A five-year prison sentence has been demanded for a man in his 20s who was tasked with falsifying overseas phishing organization phone numbers to start with '010'.

During the final sentencing hearing held by Judge Go So-young of Criminal Division 9 of the Seoul Southern District Court today (August 10), prosecutors requested a five-year prison term for Park, 21, who is charged with violating the Special Act on Prevention of Damage from Telephoned-based Financial Fraud and the Telecommunications Business Act.

They also requested an additional forfeiture of 37.04 million won.

In his final statement, Park said, "While struggling financially, I received an offer from an unidentified person and committed the crime," adding, "I offer my apologies to those who suffered damage due to my wrongful and foolish judgment."

He then appealed to the court, saying, "If you give me one last chance, I will look back on my life and serve society."

Park's defense counsel stated, "Please exercise maximum leniency, taking into consideration that the defendant is reflecting on his actions, committed the crime while in a state of financial distress, and has no criminal record exceeding a fine."

The first-instance sentencing for Park will take place on September 30.

As K, 20, who was indicted along with Park, denied the charge of violating the Electronic Financial Transactions Act among the indictment facts, an additional trial date is scheduled for September 7.

They were brought to trial on charges of being instructed by an overseas-based phishing organization to operate "caller ID spoofing relay stations" and installing and operating relays in motels nationwide.

Investigations showed that the overseas phishing organization used these relay stations to defraud 39 victims of approximately 1.1 billion won over a period of about seven months from October of last year to May of this year through "no-show" scam methods.

Police investigation results revealed that they received instructions from the phishing organization via social network services (SNS) such as Telegram and committed the crimes by staying at motels across the country at one-week intervals.

The phishing organization provided them with 136 burner phones and 395 USIM chips via courier services, and they operated the number-spoofing relay stations using these items.

After installing remote control apps on the cell phones managed by the suspects, the organization remotely operated them so that when organization members contacted victims via internet telephony or other means, the numbers appeared as '010' phone numbers.

It was found that the organization members used a "no-show" method where they impersonated public institutions to make reservations at restaurants or lodgings, demanded deposits to purchase items on behalf of specific businesses, and then disappeared.

(Photo provided by Geumcheon Police Station, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.