"How Did They Know My Address?"... Revenge-for-Hire Gang Posed as Baemin Customer Service Agents for Feces Attacks

Crimes Commissioned via Telegram
Addresses Verified While Working as Customer Service Agents

Four individuals have been apprehended by the police for committing "revenge-for-hire" crimes, such as smearing feces and filth on the front doors of other people's homes or writing abusive language with spray paint in exchange for money. It was found that, in order to obtain personal information such as the victims' addresses, they disguised themselves as customer service agents and got jobs at an outsourcing company for a delivery platform, stealing customer data in the process.

According to Yonhap News Agency on March 27, the Yangcheon Police Station in Seoul arrested four members of a group who carried out "revenge attacks" in areas including Siheung in Gyeonggi Province and Yangcheon District in Seoul, detaining three of them. They are accused of receiving requests for revenge attacks from random individuals through Telegram and, in January, repeatedly committing crimes at an apartment in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province, such as spreading feces on the front door, spraying paint, and writing abusive graffiti. The charges brought against them include intimidation and trespassing under the Criminal Act.

Yangcheon Police Station, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

The police expanded their investigation after discovering that the address information for the targeted victims had been verified using customer data from Baemin (Baedal Minjok) while investigating Mr. A, a man in his 30s who acted as an operative. The investigation revealed that the group had Mr. B, a man in his 40s, obtain a job disguised as a customer service agent at an outsourcing company for Baemin in order to acquire the necessary personal information for their crimes, and continuously stole customer data. Mr. B accessed approximately 1,000 records of personal information for purposes unrelated to his customer service work.

It is known that they specifically sought employment at companies that allowed personal information to be looked up via mobile phone numbers in order to facilitate their crimes. In January, the police arrested and referred Mr. A for prosecution, and recently arrested Mr. C and Mr. D, who had instructed Mr. B to get the job under false pretenses. Currently, Mr. A, Mr. B, and Mr. C are detained, and an arrest warrant has also been requested for Mr. D. The police plan to continue their investigation to determine whether customer information has been leaked from other companies as well.

Meanwhile, Woowa Brothers, the operator of Baemin, stated, "We take the criminal activities conducted through outsourcing companies extremely seriously," adding, "We are in the process of terminating our contract with the relevant outsourcing company, and we will implement measures to prevent recurrence, including a comprehensive review of the management of customer service personnel."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.