Illegal Internet Financial Ads Surge... "Beware of Phrases Like Money Solutions, Same-Day Loans, Purchase Specialists"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyo-jin] Illegal financial advertisements on the internet significantly increased last year.

The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) announced on the 15th that it detected 16,356 cases of illegal financial advertisements related to unregistered lending and bank account trading through inspections of internet sites and cafes last year. This is an increase of 4,456 cases (37.4%) compared to 2018.

By type, illegal advertisements for unregistered lending were the most common at 8,010 cases (49.0%), followed by illegal advertisements related to cashing out small payments via mobile phones (2,367 cases / 14.5%) and work loans (2,277 cases / 13.9%).

In particular, illegal advertisements for credit card cashing increased by 654.1%, illegal advertisements for cashing out small mobile payments rose by 463.6%, and illegal advertisements for unregistered lending surged by 75.6% compared to the previous year.

The FSS requested the Korea Communications Standards Commission to take measures such as site closures and post deletions for these illegal advertisements, and asked the Ministry of Science and ICT to suspend the use of phone numbers used in the advertisements.

The FSS explained that recently, illegal advertisements have been increasing not only in open cyber spaces such as social networking services (SNS) and blogs but also in closed mobile spaces like text messages and KakaoTalk.

It was also pointed out that advertisements stimulating the consumption desires of low-income and low-credit individuals, as well as youths, unemployed young adults, and housewives who lack financial understanding or independent income, are rampant.

The FSS explained, "Illegal debt collection sometimes occurs by exploiting the vulnerability of youths and housewives to threats such as 'exposing to SNS acquaintances or parents and husbands.'"

To avoid damage, caution is needed against tactics that impersonate credible government or public institutions and counterfeit regulated financial companies.

The FSS pointed out, "Among internet loan advertisements, many use the Taegeukgi (Korean national flag), government logos, or cleverly alter parts of the names or logos of regulated financial institutions."

The FSS also urged, "When dealing with lending companies, always verify their registration status, and if you find illegal financial advertisements on internet cafes, KakaoTalk, or SNS, please contact the Illegal Private Finance Damage Reporting Center or actively report through the Financial Supervisory Service website."

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