Illegal Private Loans and Voice Phishing Reports and Consultations Increased by 58% Last Year... "Report to 1332"

"Report Illegal Private Loan Damage to 1332 (Extension 3)"

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Sun-mi] As attempts at illegal financial activities targeting low-income and vulnerable groups have increased, reports and consultations related to damages (or concerns) from illegal private loans and voice phishing received by the Financial Supervisory Service's Illegal Private Finance Damage Report Center (hereafter, the Report Center) nearly increased by 60% last year.

According to the Financial Supervisory Service on the 30th, the total number of reports and consultations received by the Report Center in 2020 was 128,538, an increase of 12,916 cases (11.2%) compared to 115,622 cases in 2019.

Among these, simple consultations related to laws, procedures, etc. were 68,330 cases, a 12.1% decrease from the previous year, whereas cases reported or consulted due to actual or potential damages from illegal private loans and voice phishing were 60,208 cases, a 58.8% increase compared to 37,922 cases the previous year.

This is mainly attributed to the increase in attempts of illegal financial activities targeting low-income and vulnerable groups who are experiencing economic difficulties due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the rise in preventive reports and consultations out of concern for potential damages, rather than actual damage reports, due to increased awareness of illegal activities, also had a notable impact.

Looking at the status by type of damage reports and consultations, all types including voice phishing (60.7%), illegal private loans (47.4%), and fraudulent fundraising (43.6%) saw a significant increase compared to the previous year.

The Report Center, for suspected voice phishing reports and consultations such as inquiries about the authenticity of calls or texts, provides immediate guidance on response methods to prevent damages in advance. Meanwhile, among illegal private loan reports, 52 cases with substantial illegal suspicions where victims wished for criminal prosecution were referred to investigative authorities (prosecutors and police). For fraudulent fundraising reports, 82 suspects (companies) with significant suspicion were also referred to investigative authorities (prosecutors and police) for investigation.

To report to the Illegal Private Finance Damage Report Center, you can call 1332 without an area code (extension 3), or access the report screen by clicking 'Illegal Private Loans / Illegal Personal Information Distribution Report' within the Illegal Finance Report Center on the Financial Supervisory Service website. Chat consultations and reports are also available through the 'Tip Report' section on the Low-Income Finance 1332 site.

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