How to Avoid Financial Fraud in Korea (I) — Cyber Scammers

1.    What are the types of financial fraud that foreigners can fall victim to?

A.     Phishing, more commonly known as phone scams, is the most common type of financial fraud that foreigners fall victim to.

–      Some say the word Phishing is a combination of “Private Date” and “Fishing.” Some others agree that it is a variant of fishing but say that it is mixed with “Phreaker” and alludes to the use of increasingly sophisticated lures to “fish” for users’ sensitive information. “Phreakers” refer to people who specialize in attacks on the telephone system, the word which became popular in the mid-1980s.

–      In Korea, phone scams (or vishing) are specifically referred to as “Voice Phishing,” and if it is done through a messaging app such as KakaoTalk, it is called “Messenger Phishing.”

–      Messenger Phishing is almost identical to Smishing which lures victims using text messages rather than messaging applications. The word smishing is a combination of SMS (short message service) and phishing.

B.     Other than Phishing, there are pharming and smishing which are done through the internet and smartphones, loan fraud, insurance fraud, and being tricked into providing bank account information to be used by scammers for illegal activities.

2.    What are the signs of “Voice Phishing” or phone scams?

A.     Impersonation: Scammers pretend to be an employee of government organizations such as the prosecutor’s office, the police, the Financial Supervisory Service, the Korea Immigration Service (Border Control Division), or an employee of a financial firm.

B.     Pressure: Scammers apply psychological pressure by telling you made-up stories such as, “Your information has been stolen,” “You are (or your bank account is) involved in a crime,” or “Your child (or a family member) has been kidnapped.”

C.     Manipulation of caller ID: Scammers manipulate the caller ID on the receiver’s phone to display the number of a financial company or a public institution so that the victims do not realize it is a phishing call.

D.     Direct withdrawal/Transfer: Scammers directly withdraw money from the victim’s account using the victim’s financial transaction information (account number, credit card number, internet banking information, telebanking information, etc.).

*You can report cyber crimes to the authorities here (Electronic Cybercrime Report & Management system)

**To report crimes to the authorities in English or other languages, you can check with your local police station and ask for a translation service. Seoul Mapo Police Station (02-3149-6670), for example, officially offers translation services.

Read More: How to Avoid Financial Fraud in Korea (II) — Voice Phishing