Consumer Agency Warns "Beware of Smishing Texts Impersonating the Consumer Agency"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] ‘International KakaoPay overseas authentication payment of 895,000 KRW completed. If not yourself, please report to the Korea Consumer Agency.’ Mr. A received a smishing text message impersonating the Consumer Agency and, alarmed, called the phone number provided in the message. The person who answered requested personal and financial information such as name, the first digits of the resident registration number, and the bank involved in the transaction.

The Consumer Agency recently stated that consumer consultations reporting smishing text messages impersonating the agency have been continuously received, urging consumers to be cautious.

According to the Consumer Agency on the 15th, consultations related to smishing were 2,516 cases from September to December 2020, 11,080 cases in 2021, and 3,793 cases up to September 2022.

Most of the received consultation cases included false contact information instructing consumers to inquire about fake overseas payment details along with phrases such as ‘International (overseas) call’.

When consumers call the provided number, it was confirmed that the caller impersonates the Consumer Agency or Consumer Counseling Center, demanding consumers provide personal and financial information or inducing them to install specific applications (apps).

The Consumer Agency stated that neither the agency nor the Consumer Counseling Center sends text messages related to personal transactions or payments, so if such messages are received, consumers should not make calls and should immediately delete the messages.

Furthermore, if economic damage has been caused or is feared due to smishing texts, consumers are urged to immediately report to the Cyber Investigation Division of the National Police Agency and also report to the Illegal Spam Response Center to prevent further damage.

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