Gwangju Police and Financial Supervisory Service Join Hands to Prevent Phone Financial Fraud 피해 Prevention

Strengthening Reporting System for Suspected Voice Phishing in Financial Institutions

Inspection and Guidance to Enhance Internal Controls for Branches with Frequent Incidents

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] The Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency and the Financial Supervisory Service Gwangju-Jeonnam Branch have joined hands to prevent telephone financial fraud (voice phishing).

On the 29th, according to the Gwangju Police Agency, the Gwangju Police will encourage financial institutions to strengthen their voice phishing suspicion reporting systems, and the Financial Supervisory Service will conduct inspections and guide the strengthening of internal controls at stores with frequent incidents.

Although telephone financial fraud nationwide decreased compared to 2019 last year, 715 cases occurred in the Gwangju area, nearly doubling (99.7%) compared to the previous year (358 cases).

This year, as of the 18th, 261 cases occurred in the Gwangju area, an 11% increase compared to the same period last year (235 cases), and the damage amount was 6.58 billion KRW, a 54% increase compared to the same period last year (4.28 billion KRW).

Looking at the types of occurrences, loan frauds that lure victims with low-interest loans predominate. There were 237 cases with damages amounting to 6.45 billion KRW.

Due to institutional improvements in the financial sector such as delayed withdrawal systems and eradication of "daepo" accounts, it has become difficult to transfer funds through account transfers, leading to a significant increase in face-to-face extortion types where victims directly withdraw large amounts of cash and hand it over to fraudsters.

Accordingly, the Gwangju Police Agency plans to encourage strengthening of the reporting system in financial companies.

Specific reporting guidelines will be introduced so that financial institution employees can actively report when large amounts of cash are withdrawn above a certain threshold.

Also, when financial institutions report, police officers from local police stations and precincts will immediately dispatch to the branch site and collaborate with dedicated investigation teams (police station dedicated teams) to verify voice phishing and persuade victims, thereby preventing citizen damage.

The Financial Supervisory Service plans to conduct on-site inspections next month targeting financial company branches in the Gwangju area to prevent voice phishing damage.

Rather than detection and sanctions, inspections will focus on consulting for damage prevention to minimize the burden on financial companies undergoing inspections.

A Gwangju Police Agency official said, “We will provide analysis data of occurrence cases to encourage the introduction of internal voice phishing monitoring systems in banks and strengthen internal controls,” adding, “We will actively recommend excellent internal control cases to other financial companies and work closely with the Financial Supervisory Service to prevent voice phishing damage.”