"Someone Is Attempting to Issue a Certificate"... New Voice Phishing Alert: Scammers Impersonate Community Centers

A new type of voice phishing scheme has been identified in which scammers impersonate local community centers to prompt the verification of personal information and the installation of malicious apps.

View of KISA.

The Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) announced on April 29 that it has confirmed multiple cases of new voice phishing scams exploiting the names of administrative and public institutions, urging the public to exercise caution.

This particular scheme involves impersonating the names of administrative agencies and creating a sense of urgency to prompt victims to respond. The perpetrators approach victims step by step using various communication channels, including phone calls and KakaoTalk messages.

Posing as staff from a community center, the scammers inform victims that "someone is attempting to issue a certificate or a resident registration copy under your name," and request identity verification. They then claim that "an application to block identity theft is necessary," and either direct the victim to call a fraudulent main number masquerading as a credit information-related agency, or send messages from a KakaoTalk channel disguised as an official agency to elicit further responses. There have also been cases where victims were prompted to click on links in KakaoTalk messages or to install malicious apps.

KISA has advised the public not to respond to suspicious calls or messages that appear to impersonate administrative agencies, but instead to verify their authenticity with the relevant institutions. The agency also emphasized that individuals should not click on links with unclear origins in KakaoTalk or text messages, and should not comply with requests to install remote control apps. If you receive a call or message that you suspect is part of a scam, you should report it to KISA or the police.

Lee Sangjoong, President of KISA, said, "If you receive any suspicious contact, do not respond immediately. Please verify its authenticity to minimize potential damage."

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