You return home to find a court document notice posted on your front door.
It even lists the staff member’s name and mobile phone number.
In times like these, can you trust it?
3-line summary
1. A court document notice may be genuine.
2. If service by mail fails, a judicial enforcement officer comes in person.
3. If they demand money or ask you to install an app, that is phishing.
The dividing line is “what they ask for”
First, here are the criteria for judging it.
| What a real judicial enforcement officer does | What phishing does |
|---|---|
| Coordinates a visit schedule | Demands money under the pretext of service fees or fines |
| Decides how the documents will be received | Asks for your full resident registration number or bank account number |
| Tells you to click a link | |
| Tells you to install an app |
The fact that the left column is short is the key. A person who comes to deliver documents has only those two tasks.
If they demand money or tell you to install an app, it is no longer court business from that moment on.
On August 11, there was an actual debate
It began when an internet user posted a photo of a notice on social media. It was issued in the name of a judicial enforcement officer of the Seoul Eastern District Court and stated that the officer had come to deliver documents but left the notice after being unable to meet the recipient.
Responses were divided. One side said, “They would not leave a personal mobile phone number like that,” while the other said, “I received one before, and it was real.”
According to a report by Yonhap News TV, confirmation with the Seoul Eastern District Court showed that it was a document used in actual court operations.
A court official said the enforcement officer’s office receives many calls asking whether notices are phishing. There have also reportedly been cases where work is delayed because people, suspicious of the notice, refuse to receive the documents.
If mail does not work, a person comes
The Civil Procedure Act provides for service by mail or by a judicial enforcement officer. Mail service is carried out by postal delivery workers, and enforcement officers act when that is not possible.
Not just anyone can become a judicial enforcement officer. The chief judge of a district court appoints them from among people who have worked for at least 10 years at a court or prosecutors’ office. They belong to district courts and handle the enforcement of judgments and the service of documents.
If repeated attempts at mail service fail because no one is home, the officer comes in person. If they cannot meet you during the day, they change the time of the visit. Where a party has applied for it, the law permits service on public holidays, before sunrise, or after sunset.
This is why it may sound strange to hear that someone from the court came at night or on a weekend. It is unfamiliar because it is rare, but it is not outside the procedure.
If they cannot meet you, they leave a notice. That is the paper posted on your front door.
You can verify it without calling the number listed
That said, calling the number printed on the notice right away is not recommended. If it is real, there are other ways to verify it; if it is fake, that number itself is the trap.
There are three ways to check.
If a case number is listed, enter it into the Supreme Court’s My Case Search. When searching by case number, you can view the case status without separate identity verification. If there is no such case, that is the end of it.
If you want to ask the court directly, call the Court Integrated Call Center at 02-3480-1100. It operates on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
To verify the enforcement officer’s office, go to the website of the court named on the notice and check the telephone numbers by department. The main number for the enforcement officer’s office is listed there. You may also go directly to the enforcement officer’s office at the court with jurisdiction.
All three methods have one thing in common: you call a number you found yourself. Not using a number provided by the other party filters out most impersonation attempts.
If it is phishing, call 112
There was a time when multiple numbers made reporting confusing. That is no longer the case.
Since September 26, 2023, voice phishing reports have been consolidated under 112. Filing the case, blocking malicious apps, and stopping payments can all be handled at once. To report online, use the “Voice Phishing Guardian” website.
If money has already left your account, time directly affects the chance of recovery. It is better to report first and verify afterward than to verify first and report afterward.
As crimes impersonating courts have increased, even genuine court documents have come under suspicion. Some courts have separately posted impersonation warnings on their websites.
Remember one sentence: A person who comes to deliver documents does not ask for money.
If you are suspicious, do not decide on the spot. Just verify it once through a channel you know.
References
- Yonhap News TV “Court Document Notice” Posted at Your Front Door… How to Avoid Mistaking It for Phishing?
- Republic of Korea Courts My Case Search
- National Law Information Center Civil Procedure Act, Article 176 (Service Agencies) and Article 190 (Service on Public Holidays, etc.)
- National Law Information Center Enforcement Officer Act
- Financial Services Commission Voice Phishing: Now Report It to “112”
The authenticity of an individual case can be confirmed only by the relevant court. If you receive a notice, please contact the court with jurisdiction directly through the channels above.