Blog, Criminal

If you’ve spent much time travelling, then you are likely familiar with cases of fraud. Perhaps you’ve been a victim of fraud in Korea yourself. Fraud can be defined as intentional deception with the goal of stealing one’s money, credit, and/or sensitive information. While fraud can happen at any time and in various ways, it is common for travellers and foreigners to be victims of fraud based on a lack of awareness in a new place. Thankfully, Seoul Law Group is here to help victims of fraud accuse their perpetrators and seek the appropriate repercussions.

Who Is A Victim of Fraud?

To be considered a victim of fraud, four specific requirements must be met.

1. You must be “deceived” by the perpetrator. This means another person misleads you by presenting false information.
2. You must “dispose” of your property or other legal rights (known as an “act of disposal”) as a result of the deception.
3. The perpetrator obtains “property or pecuniary advantage” as a result of their deception.
4. The perpetrator must have an “intention” to commit fraud. This means that if the perpetrator did not know it was a fraud, or got nothing out of their actions, it cannot be considered fraud. 

Chapter XXXIX article 347 of the Criminal Act clearly states that…

“A person who defrauds another, thereby taking property or obtaining pecuniary advantage from another, shall be punished by imprisonment for not more than ten years or by a fine not exceeding twenty million won.”

Let us first examine how to recognize if you are a victim of fraud. 

Have You Been a Victim of Fraud in Korea?

Oftentimes, a victim may not know if they are involved in a case of fraud. How can we know if we are a victim of fraud? There are several common features that help to identify a victim. Read the following information carefully and see if any of the cases apply to your situation.

• Unfamiliar bank withdrawals, charges, and purchases. 
• Inquiries on your credit report that you personally never authorised.
• New credit cards or loans opened in your name that were not authorised by you.
• Denials for lines of credit that you have never applied for.
• Calls from debt collectors regarding a debt that is not yours.
• Unfamiliar medical bills and inaccurate health conditions in your records. 
• Health Insurance providers claim that you have maxed out your benefits despite not having received such care.
• The IRS states that your tax refund has been distributed despite you have never received it.
• Compromised online accounts or an inability to log into your accounts. 
• Unfamiliar devices accessing your online accounts. 
• Notifications about a data breach.
• Missing mail.
• A warrant out for your arrest. 

These are only some of the red flags. If any of the above relates to your specific case, you may be a victim of fraud. In order to get the best support possible, victims should also understand the key types of fraud accusations.

1. Non-payment of Debt

Borrowing another person’s money without the intention or ability to repay it is considered fraud in Korea. This is because the perpetrator “deceived” the victim into lending them money, as if they had the intention and ability to repay it, while in reality they did not. On the other hand, if the borrower had the intention and ability to repay the money at the time they borrowed it, but later became financially unable to repay the money, this is not considered fraud.

2. Voice Phishing

Voice phishing is a fraud in which perpetrators call or text a victim and pretend to be a bank or government institution. They then proceed to ask for personal information that can lead to financial fraud or identity theft. Today, voice phishing cases are on the rise. It is important to never give out personal information over the phone or in an email unless you are certain the institution is legitimate.

You can learn more about voice phishing in Korea in the following article.

3. Multi-Level Marketing 

Multi-level marketing, also called “network marketing” or “pyramid selling” is a business system in which each salesperson recruits more salespeople to create a hierarchy. In this hierarchy, each member receives returns from lower-tier members. This is considered fraud because these people create false advertisements or promise higher returns than actually received.

Do none of the frauds listed above relate to your specific case? There are numerous types of fraud to be aware of. You can learn more about the requirements and types of fraud under Korean law and the penalties for each in the following article.

What To Do as a Victim of Fraud?

There are many key steps to take after identifying yourself as a victim of fraud. The most important thing is not to blame yourself and put your energy into locating the perpetrator. Fraud can be as emotionally damaging as it is financially, so be sure to take care of your mental health during this time. Additionally, be sure to contact one of Seoul Law Group’s English-speaking lawyers to guide you through the process.

Step 1: Contact Seoul Law Group

Seoul Law Group has handled numerous cases for victims of fraud. Our legal team has years of experience handling and will do everything in our power to recover lost charges and guide you through the next steps. 

Step 2: Check your insurance coverage

If you have identity theft insurance, your provider should be your first call. They will take the necessary measures to secure your accounts, uncover fraud, and walk you through other steps of recovery.

Step 3: Notify any impacted companies

Start by contacting your bank, credit card companies, credit unions, and any other impacted company. Notify them of the fraud immediately so that they may close your accounts. If you notice the perpetrator has opened accounts with other companies, you must also inform those companies’ fraud departments.

In addition to freezing accounts, ask the companies to supply you with a letter or email confirming the fraud. This is key as you need to collect as much proof of fraud as possible. It will be necessary when you file an official report and dispute that the charges and debts are not yours.

Step 4: Set Up a fraud alert

You should alert all major credit bureaus that you have been the victim of fraud. They will place a fraud alert on your account to stop scammers from opening new accounts in your name.

Step 5: Change your passwords

If a perpetrator has access to one of your accounts, it is highly likely that they can access others. Change your passwords as soon as possible and also enable multi-factor authentication. 

Step 6: Gather evidence

Gather all of the evidence for your fraud case. This includes documentation of fraudulent transactions and financial losses, evidence, identifying contact information used to locate the fraudsters, written communication with the fraudsters, and all recovery logs. 

Hiring A Lawyer

There are two types of fraud causes that victims can take: civil and criminal. Such cases can be stressful, even when processed in one’s native language, let alone in Korea. Contact Seoul Law Group for expert advice on which case best suits your situation. 

1. Civil Case

In a civil case, a victim directly sues a perpetrator to the civil court. A plaintiff will demand compensation on behalf of the victim, while the defendant must respond to the claims by showing how they did not defraud the victim.

A civil case does not lead to imprisonment, but a victim can still receive monetary compensation for suffered losses. You can learn more about the procedure of collecting money through the lawsuit in the following article.

If damages are equal to less than 500 million won, the case will be presided over by one judge. In cases with larger damages, a panel of three judges will sit on the case. The defendant will have thirty days to respond and both parties have a chance to provide evidence proving their innocence. This is why having concrete evidence is very important for the victim.

Additionally, an English-speaking lawyer from Seoul Law Group is key to defending a victim in civil cases. Not only can the lawyer help gather and organise evidence, but they can present it to the judges in a clear and succinct manner. Furthermore, Seoul Law Group can help negotiate the compensation.

2. Criminal Case

A criminal case occurs when a victim reports a scammer to the police and the case is initiated by the District Prosecutor’s Office. During this case, police are eligible to interview, obtain evidence, or even arrest the fraudster. 

Punishment differs between civil and criminal cases. If the scammer is found guilty, they do not have to pay compensation but rather pay a hefty fine or be imprisoned (from several months to several years), and in some cases both.

Seoul Law Group can aid in a criminal case by protecting your rights and building the strongest defence possible in order to punish the scammer.

While Seoul Law Group never wishes for you to become a victim of fraud, we are pleased to say that we have numerous methods of support. If you’re looking for a competent and experienced lawyer to work on your case, reach out to Seoul Law Group as soon as possible.