I sent money to a voice phishing scammer in Korea. What now?

Call the bank right now, before anything else. Ask the bank you sent the money from, or the bank that received it, to place a payment stop (지급정지) on the account the money went to. Scammers move money out within minutes, and a stop only freezes what is still there. Then report to the police. The order matters: the bank call first, the police report straight after, and the paperwork the bank asks for as soon as you have it.

What should I say when I call the bank?

Most Korean banks run a phone line for fraud reports, and some offer service in English. If the line works only in Korean, ask a Korean-speaking friend to stay on the call with you. Have this ready:

• the bank name and account number you sent money to,
• the amount and time of each transfer,
• your own account number and your alien registration card (외국인등록증) number,
• the phone number or messenger ID the scammer used.

Say it plainly: "This was voice phishing (보이스피싱). Please stop payment on the receiving account." If you sent money several times, or to more than one account, list every transfer. The bank will tell you which documents to bring and by when. That deadline is short, so write it down during the call.

Where do I report it?

Where	Why
Police, 112 or your local police station (경찰서)	Criminal report, and the confirmation paper the bank will ask for
Financial Supervisory Service (금융감독원), 1332	Fraud reports and help with the payment stop if you cannot get through to the bank
Your bank branch	Handing in the refund application with the police confirmation

Ask the police for a written confirmation that you reported the case (사건사고사실확인원). Banks generally will not move a refund forward without it. If your Korean is limited, ask for an interpreter before you give your statement. Describing the call accurately matters, especially who the caller claimed to be and what they told you to do.

What do scammers say to foreigners?

Scripts aimed at foreign residents often use your status against you:

• "This is the immigration office." Your visa will be cancelled, or your registration card was used in a crime, unless you pay a fine or move your savings to a "safe account".
• "This is the prosecutor's office." Your account is linked to money laundering and the money must be "checked" by transferring it.
• A visa or loan agent. A fee in advance to extend your visa, switch to a better visa type, or approve a loan that banks refused you.
• A compatriot with a job offer, writing in your own language, who later asks for a deposit or for your bank details.
• A relative abroad on a messenger app with a "new number" who urgently needs a transfer.

Government offices do not ask you to transfer money to a personal account or a "safe account" over the phone, and they do not ask you to install an app to protect your phone. If you hear either, hang up.

Can I get the money back?

Partly, and not always. A special law on telecommunications fraud, the 전기통신금융사기 피해 방지 및 피해금 환급에 관한 특별법, sets up a refund procedure. After the payment stop, the bank and the Financial Supervisory Service run a process that can end the account holder's right to the frozen money and pay it out to the victims. Three limits apply:

• Only money still sitting in the frozen account can come back. What the scammers already withdrew or passed on is outside this procedure.
• If several people sent money to the same account, the remainder is shared among them.
• Cash you handed to a "collector" in person, rather than transferred, does not go through the bank procedure. Report it to the police all the same.

The process involves public notices and waiting periods, so expect it to take weeks or months, not days.

Can I sue someone?

The organiser of the scam is liable for damages under the Civil Act, but is usually unknown or outside Korea. The more realistic target is often the person in whose name the receiving account was opened. People who help with an unlawful act are treated as joint wrongdoers, and courts have held that an account holder who carelessly handed over a bank account can be ordered to pay part of the victim's loss. Whether that works in your case depends on what the holder knew or should have known. A damages claim expires 3 years after you learn of the loss and who caused it, and in any event 10 years after the act.

I have no valid visa. Is it safe to report?

Being the victim of fraud is not a reason for deportation. The real worry is that the police will pass your details to immigration. Public officials have a general duty to report foreigners who breach immigration law, but the rules contain an exception: when officials are investigating certain crimes, fraud among them, they may decide not to report if relief for the victim takes priority. Officers decide this case by case, so it is not a guaranteed protection. If your status is irregular, get advice before or at the time you report, and still report, because the payment stop cannot wait.

What else should I do today?

• Delete any app the caller told you to install, then change your banking passwords and PINs, from another device if you can.
• Tell your bank if you sent a photo of your registration card or passport. Ask them to flag your details as exposed (개인정보 노출) so that new accounts or loans in your name are blocked or checked.
• Save the evidence: call log, text messages, the scammer's numbers, screenshots of chats and every transfer receipt.
• Ignore anyone offering "recovery" for a fee. People who promise to get your money back in exchange for a payment are often the second stage of the same fraud.

Next step

If you have already asked for a payment stop, put the police confirmation and the transfer receipts in one folder and meet the bank's deadline. If a large amount went to an account held by someone who can be identified, or if your immigration status makes you hesitate to report, a lawyer can tell you whether a civil claim is realistic. Consultations are paid; when you contact us, a staff member will call you back and explain the fee.

법무법인 대한중앙
1533-7377

Rules applied

Civil Act (민법) Article 750 (liability for loss caused by an unlawful act), Article 760(3) (a person who aids an unlawful act is treated as a joint wrongdoer), Article 766(1) and (2) (3 years from knowing the loss and the wrongdoer, 10 years from the act). Criminal Act (형법) Article 347 (fraud). Immigration Act (출입국관리법) Article 84(1) (officials' duty to report, with an exception set by decree); Enforcement Decree Article 92-2 item 5 and Enforcement Rules Article 70-2 item 1 (investigation of fraud listed among the tasks where the exception can apply). Named without article: 전기통신금융사기 피해 방지 및 피해금 환급에 관한 특별법 (payment stop and refund), 전자금융거래법.

This is general information, not legal advice. Every case is different.