Promised Discount and Phone Return
Factory Reset Agreed, but Dealer Employee Leaked Personal Data
Expert: "Monitoring of Device Return Programs Must Be Strengthened"
Returning the used mobile phone and changing the device offers discount benefits, but some companies have caused social issues by unauthorized leakage of customers' personal information. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. Photo by Yonhap News
[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] The three major mobile carriers offer discounts on new devices when customers return their used phones, but issues of personal information leakage have occurred during the collection process. Experts pointed out that the government should step in to thoroughly manage and supervise device return programs so that companies handling device returns can become more vigilant.
Recently, a woman in her 20s, identified as A, who is active as a YouTuber, visited a KT agency near Hongdae, Seoul, in March to purchase a new phone. After hearing from the agency staff that she would receive a discount on the fee, A deleted all sensitive personal information, including nude photos taken for before-and-after diet comparisons, and then returned the phone.
A said, "They told me if I wrote down the password and left it, they would initialize the phone, so I wrote the password on a Post-it and gave it to them."
However, in May, A received nine photos stored on her old phone from an unknown man, who claimed that her personal information had been leaked. Among the photos sent were the nude pictures A had taken for her diet comparison.
It turned out that the agency staff restored the information from A’s phone and leaked it. A former KT agency employee who worked at this branch said, "It was inside the store. When I went into the storage room, I saw three or four people crowded around looking at the phones," adding, "When I asked 'What is this?' I saw them looking through what seemed to be nude photos."
A expressed her anxiety, saying, "I feel very uneasy every time I pass by KT. I wonder if that staff member saw them too," and added, "It threatens my entire career, and I don’t know when it might all collapse. I felt like dying."
Recovery experts pointed out that factory resetting a phone three or more times is necessary to delete information. Shin Dong-hwi, Vice President of Steelyon (a security company), advised in an interview with MBC on the 28th, "It seems best to perform factory resets three to four times or more," and added, "For phones using SD cards, it is better to remove and destroy the SD card to prevent further use."
Consumers became reluctant after learning that multiple factory resets are required to delete personal information from phones. Phones contain a lot of personal data such as various certificates for banking, biometric information like facial and fingerprint data, and concerns have increased due to incidents of personal information leakage through device return programs.
B, a college student in their 20s who used a carrier’s device return program, said, "I also returned my device after hearing about a discount on a new phone," adding, "I used the phone for four years, and it contained a lot of financial information and personal records. I only did one factory reset before handing it over to the agency. Since recovery is easy, I worry about where the information inside the returned device might have leaked."
Given the situation, voices of concern are growing. Experts advise that since device returns have led to personal information leakage issues, the government and others should establish monitoring programs.
Professor Lee Eun-hee of the Department of Consumer Studies at Inha University said, "Device returns also offer benefits to consumers. The problem is that management is lax," and pointed out, "Instead of leaving it solely to the carriers’ discretion, the government agencies should step in to create guidelines for device return programs or thoroughly manage and supervise them to raise awareness among related companies."
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