Consumption Coupon Phishing Alert... Seoul Police Launch Visiting Prevention Campaign

The police have launched a campaign to prevent phishing crimes disguised as applications for livelihood recovery consumption coupons by visiting citizens directly.

Citizens are waiting in line to apply for livelihood recovery consumption coupons at Geoyeo 2-dong Community Service Center in Songpa-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

On July 22, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced that it has deployed about 110 officers from four mobile patrol battalions, along with local police officers, to conduct "visiting crime prevention activities."

This initiative has been in place for two weeks since July 14, in response to the start of nationwide applications for consumption coupons and to prepare for an expected increase in phishing crimes such as smishing that exploit this situation.

By the previous day, the police had visited 63 senior centers and senior clubs, 8 youth centers, and 5 areas with small rooming houses in Seoul to hold anti-fraud education sessions and provide information on how to prevent victimization. In addition, at 43 apartment complexes, police directly posted crime prevention notices on bulletin boards and conducted crime prevention broadcasts.

Furthermore, at about 30 lodging establishments, the police provided information on cases of "self-confinement voice phishing" to prevent such crimes. They also visited 262 locations including markets and restaurants to conduct crime prevention activities against no-show scams impersonating public institutions. "Self-confinement voice phishing" is a method in which victims are induced to cut off contact with the outside world so that they cannot report the crime.

A police official stated, "Application guidance messages for consumption coupons do not contain any links," and emphasized, "If a link appears, never click on it. If you receive a suspicious message, please report it to 112 or 118."

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