Damage of 12.8 Billion Won from January to April... Government Joint Response to 'Messenger Phishing' Initiated

35.4% Surge Compared to Same Period Last Year
Impersonating Family and Acquaintances to Demand Money... New Methods Like Remote Control
Report and Respond Immediately if Victimized

Cases of messenger phishing impersonating family members and acquaintances.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] As the number of ‘messenger phishing’ cases?where scammers impersonate acquaintances on messengers like KakaoTalk and social networking services (SNS) to steal money?has surged, the police and related agencies have taken decisive action.

On the 24th, the National Police Agency, the Korea Communications Commission, the Financial Services Commission, and the Financial Supervisory Service announced that they will jointly respond to eradicate messenger phishing. This joint response is part of the ‘strict response to illegal acts infringing on people’s livelihoods’ discussed at the Anti-Corruption Policy Council on the 22nd.

The number of messenger phishing cases from January to April this year reached 3,273, a 35.4% increase compared to the same period last year (2,416 cases). The amount of damage also reached 12.8 billion KRW. As the transition to a ‘contactless society’ accelerated due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the scale of damage caused by messenger phishing crimes is expected to continue increasing.

Messenger phishing typically involves impersonating family members or acquaintances to demand money from victims. However, recently, new tactics have emerged, such as requesting the ‘PIN numbers’ of cultural gift certificates or inducing victims to install ‘remote control applications’ on their smartphones. Cases of impersonating government agencies or companies are also steadily occurring.

To prevent messenger phishing, it is important to directly call and verify whether the person requesting money is indeed a family member or acquaintance. Even if the situation seems urgent, do not transfer money until you confirm by phone, and be especially suspicious if the request is to transfer money to an account that is not your own. Delete emails, texts, or internet addresses (URLs) from unknown sources, and regularly change your messenger passwords.

If you fall victim to messenger phishing, immediately report it to 112. If your digital certificate has been exposed, you can request loss reporting and emergency cancellation through the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA). Additionally, if your identity has been stolen, you should access the ‘Identity Theft Prevention Service’ operated by the Korea Association for ICT Promotion (KAIT) to check your mobile phone subscription status and prevent further damage.

In line with this, each agency plans to promote various prevention and awareness activities against messenger phishing. The police are conducting focused crackdowns on crimes infringing on the everyday economy, such as phishing scams, everyday fraud, and cyber fraud, until the end of this year. Through the ‘Cyber Cop’ app, they will issue damage alerts informing about messenger phishing cases, methods, and prevention tips, and distribute prevention content on the websites and SNS of police stations nationwide and related agencies. Meanwhile, the Korea Communications Commission will cooperate with mobile carriers to send warning text messages about messenger phishing early next month, and the Financial Services Commission plans to promptly block telecommunications means that could be exploited for messenger phishing.

The government emphasized, “The most important thing in preventing messenger phishing is to remember that anyone can become a victim,” and added, “It is necessary to develop the habit of verifying the identity of anyone requesting personal information or money.”

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