"Taking Flea's Liver" Twice: Common People Suffer from Loan Voice Phishing Scams

Government Support Emergency Living Expenses SMS Scam
Mobile Phone Hacking... All Calls from Phishing Criminals

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] Han Mo (37), a self-employed person in Gyeonggi-do, recently received a text message titled ‘Government Support Emergency Living Expenses.’ It stated that loans of up to 100 million KRW would be provided at low interest rates of 1.3% to 3.2% per year. Already struggling with operations due to the impact of COVID-19, Han, seeing that the message came from a bank he usually dealt with and that the government was supporting it, pressed the call button without hesitation.

During the ensuing call, the consultant explained to Han that a large loan was possible on the condition that all existing loans be repaid. He then instructed Han to first fill out a loan application form by accessing the address provided via text message. Without suspicion, Han filled out the loan application form, and his nightmare began from that moment.

The consultant then told Han that the loan process had encountered problems due to monitoring by the Financial Supervisory Service and that Han needed to meet a bank employee in person to repay the existing loans. Feeling something was off, Han called the bank’s main number and the Financial Supervisory Service to verify, but both gave answers identical to the consultant’s explanation. Ultimately, Han met the person claiming to be a bank employee and handed over 42 million KRW in cash, the amount of his existing loan, and the call with the consultant ended there. It was a voice phishing scam.

Loan fraud voice phishing scams are rampant, targeting ordinary people struggling with business or household management due to the COVID-19 impact. In particular, men in their 40s and 50s appear to be vulnerable to such tactics.

According to the ‘2020 Voice Phishing Status Analysis’ recently released by the Financial Supervisory Service, the total amount of voice phishing damages last year was 235.3 billion KRW, with 25,859 cases reported. Among these, loan fraud-related damages amounted to 156.6 billion KRW, accounting for 67% of all voice phishing damages. By gender, men accounted for 61.2%, and by age, those in their 40s and 50s made up 65%. Considering both gender and age, men in their 40s and 50s represented the largest share at 38.7%.

Loan fraud scams typically involve fraudsters impersonating financial institutions who contact victims by phone, claiming that despite low credit ratings, loans are possible. They then demand loan processing fees and advance interest payments, and once the victim transfers money, the scammers steal it. Another common case is deceiving victims into believing that low-interest refinancing loans are available and inducing them to transfer repayment funds for existing loans to fraudulent accounts.

Recently, a method involving hacking mobile phones so that all calls are connected to voice phishing gangs has been mainly used. In Han’s case, a hacking program was installed on the page he accessed to fill out the loan application form. This hacking program connects all calls and text messages made by the mobile phone user to a single destination, eliminating victims’ suspicions.

A police official stated, “Since voice phishing text messages are being sent indiscriminately recently, people should not be deceived by them and must remember that anyone using financial services can fall victim to voice phishing,” emphasizing, “Never click on apps or URL addresses from unknown sources.”

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