Smishing Surges Targeting Family Gatherings Like Weddings and Sije under With-Corona Policy

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Sangho Kang (41), who lives in Jinju, Gyeongnam, recently received a text message about a wedding from the representative of a family gathering. The message, which began with "There is a wedding news in October," included the actual relative's name as the host and detailed that the eldest son was getting married. The message also contained a map to the wedding hall and a bank account number.

Considering that he had not been able to attend gatherings with family or relatives due to COVID-19, Kang sent a congratulatory gift of 100,000 won. However, the message was a 'smishing (SMS phishing)' scam, where the perpetrator hacked the phone of the family gathering representative and impersonated them to fraudulently obtain congratulatory money. Kang reported the case to the police.

‘With Corona’ resuming various gatherings, smishing crimes targeting these events are rampant. A typical method exploits the broken family relationships caused by COVID-19 to extort various fees or congratulatory money. Recently, scams have also occurred demanding fees for ancestral rites held in the lunar October at graves of five or more ancestors.

A police official advised, "If there is a link from an unverified source in a text message, do not click it, and do not provide your ID or personal information." They added, "If you have been a victim of smishing through smartphone hacking or other means, you should report the incident using the Cyber Crime Reporting System (ECRM)."

According to the National Police Agency, the number of smishing cases last year was 822, nearly four times the previous year. This year, from January to August alone, 829 cases were recorded, already surpassing last year's record high. The amount of damage also increased about fivefold, from 235 million won in 2018 to 1.17 billion won in 2020.