10,000 Won Voice Phishing Victims to Receive Refund... Relief Procedures Simplified

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[Asia Economy Reporter Jo Kang-wook] Starting from the 20th, even if victims suffer small-scale damages of around 10,000 KRW due to voice phishing scams, they will be able to stop the use of scam accounts and apply for damage refunds. The procedure will also be simplified so that victims can report the phone numbers used in voice phishing when applying for relief from financial institutions.

On the 10th, the Financial Services Commission announced that the amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the "Special Act on Prevention of Telecommunications Financial Fraud and Refund of Damages (Telecom Fraud Damage Refund Act)" containing these details has been passed. This amendment promptly implements the "Comprehensive Plan to Eradicate Voice Phishing" announced on June 24 and sets delegated matters in the enforcement decree according to the revised "Telecom Fraud Damage Refund Act" effective from the 20th.

The amendment introduces a statutory form to report phone numbers and reception times used in telecommunications financial fraud to the Financial Supervisory Service. Reporting can be done simultaneously with the damage relief application, improving the system to thoroughly block phone numbers used in voice phishing.

Additionally, the minimum standard amount to initiate the debt extinguishment procedure delegated by law has been set at 10,000 KRW. This allows financial companies to focus on efficient damage relief and notifies that victims who want relief even for small amounts can request the initiation of the debt extinguishment procedure.

The debt extinguishment procedure is a process to extinguish the (deposit) claims of the account holder used in the scam to refund damages from telecommunications financial fraud. The relief process proceeds as follows: application for payment suspension to the financial institution upon voice phishing damage → debt extinguishment procedure by the Financial Supervisory Service and financial institutions → relief procedure through the Financial Supervisory Service’s decision on damage refund.

A Financial Services Commission official stated, "We will continue efforts to prevent damage through disaster messages, public service advertisements, YouTube, etc., so that the public maintains constant vigilance against voice phishing," and urged, "We also ask the public to actively use fraud prevention services such as the financial companies’ delayed transfer services to protect themselves from voice phishing risks."