Most Texts Sent for Parcel Delivery...
29,178 Internet Fraud Cases and 318 Smishing Cases Last Year
"Be careful when clicking on delivery obituary message links."
With the Lunar New Year approaching, concerns have grown over smishing (a combination of SMS and phishing) scams disguised as internet fraud or delivery notifications, prompting the police to issue a warning.
On the 4th, the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency announced that there were a total of 29,178 internet fraud cases in the Gyeonggi Nambu region last year. This represents a 7.8% increase compared to 27,068 cases in 2022.
Most of the damage occurred through secondhand trading cafes or apps. The items involved included gift certificates, concert tickets, electronic devices, and accommodation vouchers. In fact, in February last year, the Anyang Dongan Police Station arrested and detained a suspect who posted a false advertisement selling resort vouchers usable during the Lunar New Year holiday period, swindling 28 people out of 62.9 million won.
In October last year, around the Chuseok holiday, four individuals were caught after creating a fake shopping mall and deceiving 10,507 people by claiming to sell famous brand shoes, extorting 2.1 billion won.
Be cautious of promotional posts claiming to sell department store gift certificates at prices much lower than market value. Also, be wary if you receive messages from unknown numbers stating that the delivery address is incorrect or that a gift has arrived, accompanied by links. Clicking on these links can result in small-amount payments being deducted immediately.
The number of smishing cases in the Gyeonggi Nambu area increased by 146.5%, from 129 cases in 2022 to 318 cases last year. Most smishing messages were disguised as delivery notifications. It was also revealed that messages impersonating obituary notices or health checkup results are sometimes sent.
The amount of damage caused by smishing has also increased. In the past, clicking on a message containing malware would result in small-amount payments of up to 2 million won on mobile phones, but recently, the damage has expanded to include account transfers exploiting non-face-to-face transactions, increasing the amount of damage to tens of millions of won.
Earlier, in November last year, the Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency arrested four suspects, two of whom were detained, on charges of sending malware-laden messages randomly to steal personal and financial information, and using smishing tactics to trick 14 victims into transferring over 500 million won.
The police recommended the following internet fraud prevention measures: ▲ use verified official websites ▲ use safe transaction sites (escrow) for person-to-person direct trades ▲ check sellers in advance through the 'CyberCop' application operated by the National Police Agency.
They also advised ▲ not to open links in messages from unknown senders ▲ if opened, scan them using the 'Citizen Conan' application ▲ register incidents and check account and mobile phone records through apps such as 'Fine', 'MSafer', and 'Account Info' to prevent damage.
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