A man in his 20s arrested and indicted for 'body cam phishing' under the pretense of offering advertising model work

A man in his 20s has been brought to trial on charges of threatening to distribute explicit photos received from women who contacted him after seeing advertisements for 'advertisement model recruitment' and 'high-income part-time jobs.'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 13th, the Women's and Children's Crime Investigation Division of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Choi Jae-ah) announced that A (24, male) was arrested and indicted on charges including intimidation using materials under the Sexual Violence Punishment Act, illegal filming using a camera, distribution, and coercion. A is a member of a 'body cam phishing' organization that lures victims to send body images and then threatens to distribute them.

According to the prosecution, A posted advertisements for 'advertisement model recruitment' and 'high-income part-time jobs' in July and August of last year. After women contacted him in response, he received photos showing partial nudity and used them as leverage to demand additional photos, threaten, and distribute them.

Investigations revealed that A conspired with members of a 'body cam phishing' organization based in China and established and operated an advertising agency in June last year, posting recruitment ads for advertisement models. In July last year, A demanded highly revealing photos from victim B under the pretense of hiring her as a model, forced her into video calls, and threatened to distribute the images, coercing her to come to a motel. When B refused, A sent her explicit photos to B's acquaintances.

In August of the same year, A posted an advertisement video on the advertising agency's YouTube account stating, "If you 'like' the advertisement post, you will receive a commission." Victim C, who contacted them after seeing this, was paid a commission but was then threatened with a report for participating in a fraudulent scheme, leading to the receipt of explicit photos from C. Subsequently, A threatened to distribute the photos if C did not engage in video calls while in a state of undress.

The victims believed the agency was legitimate because the advertisement videos were posted on YouTube, and they received advertisement model contracts, deposits, and part-time job allowances. The agency closed down in August last year.

The prosecution stated, "We have confirmed that the agency's advertising account and videos are still posted on YouTube and have requested the Korea Communications Standards Commission to have the illegal posts removed from YouTube." They added, "Caution is necessary regarding 'body cam phishing' crimes, where trusting advertisements for advertisement or model part-time jobs and responding to requests for nude photos can lead to demands for additional explicit photos, threats, and distribution."

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