'You Are Eligible for Loss Compensation Support' Text Arrives, Clicking Only on Financial Company Name... 'Smishing Alert'

Cunning Phishing Tactics... Heightened Caution Needed Ahead of 'Loss Compensation Payment'
Police Agency Urges "Cash Transfer Requests Are Always Scams, Always Suspect Text Messages"

Voice phishing crimes have surged, with perpetrators claiming to provide disaster relief funds.

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Se-eun] Recently, smishing crimes impersonating the government and financial institutions by claiming to provide 'disaster relief funds' have emerged.

This method emphasizes that the recipient is eligible for past disaster relief funds or livelihood stabilization support funds and specifies the name of the financial institution in the message.

The message recipients, believing they are eligible for policy funds but have not yet applied, think the message was sent because of their unsubmitted status, which lowers their guard easily.

Additionally, as the supplementary budget bill's processing is delayed, the actual payment is postponed, raising expectations among small business owners for the support funds, making extra caution necessary.

According to the 'Cybercrime Trends (2022)' released by the National Police Agency on the 24th, the number of smishing crimes reported to the police last year was 1,336 cases, a 62.5% increase compared to 822 cases in 2020.

Smishing is a compound word of Short Message Service (SMS) and Phishing. It involves sending a large number of text messages containing website links (URLs), and when victims click on them, malicious apps are installed to steal financial information.

Smishing crimes had been decreasing over the past five years but sharply increased starting in 2020 when COVID-19 began spreading domestically.

Moreover, due to increasingly sophisticated methods, cases of 'voice phishing scams' are also rising.

According to the National Investigation Headquarters of the National Police Agency on the 26th, the number of telephone financial fraud cases in April was 2,497, a 20% increase from 2,067 cases in March.

During the same period, the amount of damage increased by 21%, from 60.6 billion KRW to 49.9 billion KRW, and the number of arrests also rose by 24%, from 1,698 to 2,118 cases.

Organizations planning telephone financial fraud exploit loopholes in telecommunications and financial systems while fully utilizing telecommunications technology.

They often use methods that trick victims into installing malicious apps to steal phone address books and call logs, and even when victims call legitimate institutions, the calls are redirected to the criminals.

Furthermore, they emphasize that they are part of the same group as police officers or bank employees, completely controlling the victim's psychology.

The National Police Agency urged people to remember three key points to prevent phishing crimes: △If cash or account transfers are requested, it is definitely telephone financial fraud △Always be suspicious of text messages △Install and scan with antivirus programs on devices.

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