Phone Financial Fraud Decreased by 30% Year-on-Year... Monthly Damage Amount Reaches 50 Billion Won

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The number of voice phishing (telephone financial fraud) cases reported from January to June this year decreased by 30% compared to the same period last year. The police assessed that since the scale of damage remains significant, a government-wide response is necessary for complete eradication.

According to the National Police Agency on the 17th, 12,401 cases of voice phishing were reported from January to June, resulting in damages amounting to 306.8 billion KRW. This represents a 30.4% decrease in the number of cases and a 29.5% decrease in damages compared to the same period last year (17,814 cases, 435.1 billion KRW). Over the six months, the police detected a total of 11,568 voice phishing-related cases and arrested 11,689 suspects. Compared to the same period last year, the number of arrests decreased by 13.2%, and the number of suspects arrested decreased by 5.9%.

The National Police Agency analyzed that the reduction in damage scale was due to efforts made since the establishment of the Telecommunication Financial Fraud Investigation Situation Room in March last year to eradicate telephone financial fraud. However, the police emphasized that since an average of 51.1 billion KRW per month and 2.5 billion KRW per day (excluding weekends) in damages still occur, a government-wide response is necessary for complete eradication.

The police previously identified eight key methods used in telephone financial fraud crimes: ▲fake bank accounts (Daepo accounts) ▲fake phones (Daepo phones) ▲number spoofing relay devices ▲illegal currency exchange ▲malicious apps ▲illegal distribution of personal information ▲bait text message sending ▲false job advertisements. From April to June, through special crackdowns, the police uncovered 37,226 cases using these methods, illegal currency exchange amounting to 58.5 billion KRW, and arrested 3,627 suspects.

Strengthening cooperation with the telecommunications industry and financial institutions also contributed to reducing the scale of damage. In particular, although it was legally impossible to suspend the use of phone numbers used in face-to-face fraud crimes, the police negotiated with the telecommunications industry and revised terms and conditions to suspend the use of phone numbers used in crimes. Additionally, inspired by the withdrawal of victim funds at financial institution counters, the police actively requested reports, and as a result of cooperation with financial institutions nationwide, 112 emergency reports have been activated.

Since June, the police have been operating a special voluntary surrender and reporting period. This provides an opportunity for suspects who unintentionally participated or who repent their crimes to surrender and encourages reporting on key organization members. As of the 14th of this month, a total of 37 suspects have surrendered, and 21 reports from others have been received. A police official stated, "Since the methods continue to become more sophisticated and the damage still reaches 50 billion KRW per month, we must never be complacent," adding, "Special caution and continuous attention are required."

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