Accidentally Clicking on a 'Mobile Cheongcheopjang' Cost 70 Million Won

Personal Information Stolen Leading to Illegal Loan Damage
Police: "Never Click Unverified Addresses"

Recently, a scam using 'mobile wedding invitations' as bait to steal personal information has become widespread, requiring smartphone users to exercise special caution. The police have launched an investigation after personal information was leaked, resulting in loan damages amounting to tens of millions of won.

From Celebrating a Wedding to a Disaster... Tens of Millions Lost Due to 'Invitation Smishing'

[Photo by Yonhap News]

On the 20th, the Sacheon Police Station in Gyeongnam reported to Yonhap News that a complaint was filed claiming a phone was hacked via text message, and they are currently investigating the related case.

According to the police, on the 4th, Mr. A, in his 50s, clicked on an internet address included in a mobile wedding invitation and fell victim to text message phishing, known as 'smishing.'

The moment Mr. A clicked the address, a specific application was installed on his smartphone, and when he tapped it again, his personal information was leaked to the suspect.

The suspect used Mr. A's personal information to open a prepaid phone account. Exploiting the fact that loans could be obtained without face-to-face verification, the suspect took out a loan of 69.7 million won from an internet bank the next day.

The police confirmed that the stolen funds were transferred through eight different accounts and are continuing their investigation, including seizing the accounts.

"Please Contact the Korea Consumer Agency"... Smishing Tactics Becoming Increasingly Diverse

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Such smishing damage cases appear every year in various forms.

One smishing tactic that the Korea Consumer Agency warns about involves urging victims to call a fake contact number by claiming, "Please contact the Korea Consumer Agency regarding overseas payment details." When victims call, they are asked for personal and financial information or prompted to install a specific application, which steals their personal data.

In addition, recent smishing cases include messages impersonating children by texting, "Mom, my phone is broken," to demand money.

Another common tactic is sending messages like, "There is an issue with your package delivery, please click the internet address to check," to steal personal information.

The Consumer Agency urged, "If you have suffered economic damage due to such smishing messages or are concerned about potential damage, please immediately report to the Cyber Investigation Division of the National Police Agency and also report to the Illegal Spam Response Center to prevent further spread of the damage."