Police Strengthen Cybercrime Prevention Activities Against Fake News on 'New Coronavirus'

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] The police have decided to strengthen their preventive activities against cybercrimes related to the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia). This decision comes amid the assessment that online crimes such as the spread of fake news exploiting public anxiety, fraud and hoarding of medical supplies like masks are rapidly increasing.

According to the National Police Agency on the 10th, the police issued alerts regarding cybercrimes related to the novel coronavirus through official channels such as the National Police Agency's official social network service (SNS) and the 'CyberCop' app. These platforms share cases of fake news dissemination and personal information leaks, while also providing information on preventing damages from cyber fraud disguised as medical supply sales and smishing.

In addition, the police produced preventive content such as card news and banners containing information on punishable acts, reporting methods, and prevention guidelines, which will be posted at police stations nationwide and on SNS. They also plan to post this content on external websites such as Naver, secondhand trading sites, and the Sunpul Movement Headquarters.

The police also produced 10,000 disinfectant wet wipes containing messages about prohibited cyber activities and prevention, which will be stocked at police stations and distributed voluntarily to visitors. A police official stated, "We will issue alerts about types of cybercrimes and carry out preventive activities to raise public awareness."

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