Financial Scams
Amid worries over additional damage resulting from the leakage of the personal information of credit card holders and mobile subscribers, the number of cases where voice phishing calls originating from other countries are blocked reportedly reached 215,000 during Jan and Feb. The figure for smishing, on the other hand, was 557,000 over the same period.
According to the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning on March 14, the number of cases of blocked voice phishing calls coming from con artists based overseas pretending to be from financial institutions was 199,022 (92.2 percent). The figure for calls from voice phishers posing as officials of public institutions was 16,795 (7.7 percent).
By financial institution, KB Kookmin Bank, the nation’s second-largest lender, reported the largest number of cases of blocked calls at 109,500, followed by the Industrial Bank of Korea (71,176 cases), Chinae Savings Bank (13,860), and Shinhan Bank (2,434).
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety topped the list among public institutions with 6,965 cases, and the National Police Agency (3,360) and the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office (2,545) followed.
Currently, local mobile service operators such as KT are blocking all international calls made to local financial institutions and public organizations with the help of the Korea Internet & Security Agency.