Courier for Fraud Group Duped by 'AI Cash Bundle' Photo... Arrested at the Scene

First Trial Court Sentences Defendant to Suspended Prison Term

A courier for an investment scam group operating through a so-called investment 'leadership chatroom' was arrested and brought to trial after being lured to the crime scene by an image of fake stacks of cash generated by artificial intelligence (AI). The court sentenced the man, a Kazakhstani national in his 20s, to a suspended prison term.

According to Yonhap News on June 5, the Seoul Western District Court's Single Criminal Division 1 (Presiding Judge Park Ji-won) sentenced the Kazakhstani man, identified as A, to one year and six months in prison, suspended for three years, for violating the Act on the Prevention of Damage from Telecommunications-Based Financial Fraud and other charges.

Photo by Yonhap News

A is accused of attempting to steal approximately 19.9 million won from victim B in April under the pretext of a withdrawal fee for investment returns.

B was deceived by a phishing organization impersonating a well-known analyst and was tricked into installing a fake securities company application (app), subsequently transferring about 12 million won as investment funds. When B later requested to withdraw the returns, the phishing group demanded that a fee be paid in advance and requested a cash handover.

Growing suspicious, B generated a photo of stacks of cash using AI and sent it to the organization, thereby luring the courier. When A appeared at the agreed location, he was arrested by police officers who were lying in wait at the scene.

On May 22, prosecutors sought a three-year prison sentence for A, stating, "Voice phishing crimes are of a particularly malicious nature."

The court stated, "Although the defendant took part in an organized fraud, it appears to have been a crime committed out of necessity for livelihood. He only participated in the execution of the act, and the crime was not completed. The court also considered the fact that the defendant had already been detained for about two months."

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