"Personal Information Leak, Compensation in Coins"... Financial Supervisory Service Issues Fraud Alert

Mr. A received a phone call around January this year from Mr. B, an employee of the virtual asset exchange OO, claiming that the Personal Information Protection Commission had delegated him to pay compensation of 3 million KRW for personal information leakage damages.

Mr. A had used a lottery site in 2023, and Mr. B accurately knew the quantity and amount of lottery tickets purchased. Additionally, Mr. B presented a fake business card along with a document in the name of the Personal Information Protection Commission, which made Mr. A trust him even more. Deceived by Mr. B’s words, Mr. A was told that the compensation would be paid only in coins and thus registered as a member on a fake coin wallet site.

Mr. B deceived Mr. A by saying that coins worth about 130 million KRW, more than the scheduled compensation, had been paid, and that if Mr. A deposited 60 million KRW as coin purchase funds, he could withdraw the remaining 70 million KRW. Since Mr. A did not have cash, he borrowed 60 million KRW from a savings bank and transferred it to Mr. B. However, Mr. B soon disappeared and cut off contact.

Example of Fake Coin Wallet Sites. Provided by the Financial Supervisory Service

The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) announced a consumer alert level 'Caution' on the 4th, stating that scams involving false claims of paying compensation for personal information leakage damages with fake coins are continuously occurring.

The FSS explained that scammers approach victims whose personal information was leaked from lottery vendors, lottery number prediction sites, etc., claiming to pay compensation for losses via phone calls, SNS, emails, and so on. They impersonate employees of financial companies or virtual asset service providers by presenting forged business cards or employee IDs. Furthermore, they forge official government documents to reassure investors.

They then deceive victims by saying that the compensation will be paid only in coins that can be refunded on the same day. Afterward, they fabricate the appearance of actual coin payments on fake coin wallet sites. They demand large sums of money under the pretext of coin sales, claiming that more coins than the scheduled compensation were paid, and induce victims to take out loans.

The FSS advised, "If approached by someone presenting a business card of a financial company or virtual asset service provider employee, you must verify with the respective institution." They added, "If you are deceived by scammers and provide personal information, secondary damage may occur, so special caution is necessary."

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