Received a family member's number and got threatened with "You kidnapped me"... Beware of new voice phishing scams

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[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The National Police Agency's National Investigation Headquarters recently warned about a new type of phone financial fraud (voice phishing) where scammers call from a family member's mobile phone number to threaten and extort money.

On the 5th, the National Investigation Headquarters revealed that voice phishing calls have appeared where the caller ID shows a family member's mobile phone number, such as a mother or daughter, and upon answering, the victim is threatened with messages like "You have been kidnapped, send money," or "Send naked photos." According to the police, this new method exploits the fact that if the last few digits of a mobile phone number match, even if the call is from an international or different number, the phone displays it as a saved contact. Because the scammers threaten to harm the family member, victims are easily deceived due to their desperate state, the police explained.

The police advised that to avoid becoming a target of such voice phishing crimes, individuals should carefully manage their personal information. A police official stated, "Since criminal organizations meticulously manipulate text messages, please thoroughly verify any internet addresses (URLs) included in SMS and avoid clicking them whenever possible." They added, "The best way to prevent victimization is information sharing," urging people to "talk to family, relatives, and friends at least once about this type of voice phishing."

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