When the police contact you as a voice phishing cash courier

Take care of these one by one from the day you are contacted. The records that remain now are the most important materials for showing later that you were used.

• Check the offense, case number and investigator in charge in the summons text
• Do not delete Telegram or KakaoTalk conversations; save them as screenshots and with the chat export function
• Gather the job advertisement, any company materials you received and the account records showing your pay
• Note down, by date, where and from whom you received how much, and how you passed it on
• Stop following instructions, and keep any money or items you still have exactly as they are

If you reset your phone or leave the chat rooms out of fear, you will be suspected of trying to destroy evidence. Telling the organisation that the police have contacted you causes the same problem.

Putting off the date and cutting off contact is also dangerous. Couriers who met victims in person are easy to identify, so if you do not appear, an arrest warrant (체포영장) may be requested. If you need to change the date, explain your situation to the investigator and set a new one.

The investigator will start with how you found the job, then ask in turn whether there was an interview, how the work was explained to you, how much you were paid and how, who you were told to say you were when collecting cash, and how you passed the money on. They will also always ask when you started to feel something was wrong.

Do not guess at dates or amounts you do not remember; say you will check the records and submit them. Inconsistent statements undermine the credibility of saying you did not know. Equally, hiding unfavourable facts that then conflict with your bank records has the same result.

If you made several collections or the amounts were large, you may be arrested without a summons first. If a family member has been arrested, find out which police station they are at and ask first for a lawyer's visit. If a detention warrant (구속영장) is requested, at the pre-detention hearing (영장실질심사) we show that you have a fixed home and job, a clear intention to appear and no risk of destroying evidence. A certificate of employment, family relationship documents and the chat records you have already preserved are used at this point.

Taking part in voice phishing is an offense where the investigation and trial continue even if the victim does not want punishment, but compensating victims weighs heavily in the outcome and sentence. If there are several victims, consider a settlement or criminal deposit (형사공탁) for each one.

From September 8, 2026, if during an investigation or trial you provide statements or materials revealing crimes by other members of the organisation, or tip off investigators about catching offenders or the proceeds of crime, your sentence can be reduced or waived (Special Act on the Prevention of Telecommunications Financial Fraud and Refund for Damage (전기통신금융사기 피해 방지 및 피해자산 환급에 관한 특별법) Article 17-2). It also applies to cases already under way at that time, so if you have any information, consider organising it with your lawyer and submitting it.

A managing partner sets out with you, in date order, everything from your recruitment to your last collection, and practises questions about intent with you. We attend the questioning and raise objections on the spot to leading questions, and if your phone has been seized, we apply to attend the forensics. If you have been arrested, we respond by visiting you and attending the pre-detention hearing. If you have been contacted, let us know first through the chat on this page.