I Thought It Was a Wedding Invitation... Lost 70 Million Won to Smishing

Sacheon Police Station Investigates Smishing Disguised as Mobile Wedding Invitations

Example of a scam text message. [Photo by Cyber Terror Response Center, National Police Agency]

The Sacheon Police Station in Gyeongnam has launched an investigation into a smishing crime disguised as a mobile wedding invitation.

Smishing is a compound word of SMS phishing, combining text messages (SMS) on mobile phones with the internet and email to obtain personal and financial information for fraud. It is a new type of scam that induces small payments on smartphones or exploits leaked information for criminal purposes.

According to the Sacheon Police Station on the 20th, a man in his 50s, Mr. A, received a mobile wedding invitation on his phone in early April and clicked on the URL in the text message.

Afterward, a malicious app was installed on Mr. A's phone, and by clicking it again, his personal information was leaked to an unknown suspect.

The next day, a non-face-to-face internet loan of 69.7 million won was executed under Mr. A's name.

Mr. A reported the incident to the police immediately after learning of it.

The police confirmed that the stolen funds were transferred to eight different accounts and are conducting an investigation through account seizure and search.