Let's Eradicate Phone Financial Fraudsters! ... Busan Police Agency and Financial Supervisory Service Launch Full-Scale Campaign Against Voice Phishing

Busan Police Agency.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Duyul] The Busan Metropolitan Police Agency has launched a joint prevention campaign with the Financial Supervisory Service Busan·Ulsan branch to eradicate voice phishing.

Voice phishing crimes in Busan decreased by 121 cases, or 27.4%, to 320 cases in 2022 compared to the previous year, and the damage amount dropped by 3.08 billion KRW, or 35%, to 5.7 billion KRW. Both the number of cases and the amount of damage are on a declining trend.

The Busan Metropolitan Police Agency judged that although voice phishing crimes in Busan have shifted to a decreasing trend due to various policy initiatives, it is still too early to be complacent.

Since 2020, the police have built and analyzed statistical data on financial institutions where face-to-face fraud victims withdrew money, the first such effort nationwide.

They have shared related data with the Financial Supervisory Service and conducted joint inspections twice on financial institutions with high victimization rates, continuously strengthening management of financial institutions.

Since 2021, they have operated a voice phishing investigation situation room and implemented various policies to establish a foundation for reducing victimization.

This year, the police have set a ‘10(TEN)·10(TEN)’ goal to reduce crime occurrence by 10% and increase arrests by 10% through the advancement of proven effective policies, focusing on both prevention and arrests.

To prevent voice phishing damage, they produced motion graphics in-house and delivered them to the Financial Supervisory Service.

The Financial Supervisory Service plans to continuously broadcast the motion graphics on large electronic billboards and teller promotional monitors managed by banks in Busan such as Busan Bank, IBK Industrial Bank, and NongHyup Bank to directly promote damage prevention.

The Busan Metropolitan Police Agency will focus investigative capabilities by establishing a telephone financial fraud eradication task force led by Chief Inspector Choi Ik-su.

They will take the lead in eradicating voice phishing, an antisocial crime that infringes on public livelihood, through collaboration with Busan City, the Financial Supervisory Service, and private financial institutions.

The Busan Metropolitan Police Agency stated, “It is necessary to make information protection and security a daily habit by actively using security apps such as ‘Citizen Conan,’ which is freely distributed by the Police University’s Security Policy Research Institute, and the well-known antivirus security app V3 to prevent hacking app installations and malware infections.”

The police agency added, “Please remember that public institutions and financial institutions do not request money over the phone, and we hope everyone will strive to protect themselves to prevent financial damage.”