"My Husband's a Prosecutor, but..." Han Ji-hye Says She Nearly Fell for a Voice Phishing Scam on 'Tails of Tales'

Actor Han Ji-hye reveals she almost got caught by a voice phishing scam.

The March 19 episode of SBS’s "Tails of Tales", titled “Faceless Killer,” tracks a voice phishing case tied to an 11-hour phone call that pushed a 28-year-old man to his death. Joining as “listeners” are actors Han Ji-hye and Shin So-yul, and AtHeart member ARIN.

Han Ji-hye, whose husband is a current prosecutor, draws attention with her confession: “I almost fell for voice phishing too.” She explains, “I once got a call saying my name was used in a crime. In that split second, I reacted, ‘My name was?’ and that’s how you get fooled.” She adds that thankfully she wasn’t harmed, but admits, “In the moment, it was hard to tell it was voice phishing,” stressing how sophisticated these scams have become.

This episode covers a real case from 2020 in which a victim died by suicide after receiving a call that began, “This is Prosecutor Kim Min-su from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office.” The 28-year-old endured a meticulously staged, 11-hour scheme before jumping from his apartment. Told his bank account had been used in a crime, he struggled to prove his innocence and ultimately lost 4.2 million won. The most heartbreaking part: he didn’t realize he was a victim and, believing he had become a criminal, took his own life.

Making her fifth appearance, Shin So-yul explodes with anger at the scammers’ ruthless methods: “I’m shaking, I’m so mad.” ARIN of AtHeart chokes up, saying, “This is murder.” After reading the victim’s note left before the jump, Shin So-yul breaks down in tears.

Then the studio is stunned by real-time AI voice tech. After recording their voices and inputting a script, an AI voice that sounded exactly like them plays back. Hearing her own AI voice, Shin So-yul says, “It sounds just like me. It’s terrifying.”

"Tails of Tales"’ “Faceless Killer” episode, which exposes the perpetrator behind the outrage-inducing scam and the ultra-evolved tactics of voice phishing, airs Thursday at 10:20 p.m.

(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Sun-ae)