Ministry of Health and Welfare: "No Nationwide Daily Support Fund"
Sometimes Leads to Paid Service Subscriptions
Phishing scams claiming to offer the '2024 National Daily Support Fund' are rampant, requiring caution. The Ministry of Health and Welfare's official stance is that the 'National Daily Support Fund' does not exist in the first place.
Recently, advertisements and posts urging people to apply for the 'National Daily Support Fund' have frequently appeared online. Since most citizens have experienced receiving emergency disaster relief funds during the COVID-19 pandemic, and with the recent political buzz about '250,000 KRW per person for all citizens,' confusion has increased.
Most of these posts include links that direct users to other sites to apply for the support fund, aiming to increase views on blogs, online cafes, and similar platforms. Alternatively, they may be bait to obtain personal information. While simply driving traffic is not a major issue, personal information could be compromised if one is not careful.
In particular, some scams ask for personal information under the pretext of verifying eligibility, leading to automatic monthly payments for subscription services. There have been ongoing reports in online communities of victims saying things like, "I tried to apply for the Daily Support Fund but ended up subscribing to a 3,300 KRW paid service in an instant," or "I accidentally subscribed to a 3,000 KRW paid service."
Phishing tactics are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Recently, Coupang teamed up with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency to launch preventive measures after a surge in phishing crimes impersonating review experience groups. These scams lure victims to join specific sites or install apps via KakaoTalk, Telegram, or text messages under the guise of recruiting review testers. They steal money or registered personal information under the pretext of group purchases.
Additionally, the Financial Supervisory Service has issued a consumer alert, warning that phishing sites impersonating 'institution-exclusive private fund managers,' which are difficult for the general public to recognize, or capitalizing on the hype around public offerings by pretending to be 'pre-IPO companies' or 'unlisted stock trading platform companies,' are becoming more advanced and audacious. They advised that damages caused by illegal financial investment operators are practically difficult to recover and urged consumers not to click on internet sites included in social networking services (SNS) or spam messages. If a site is suspected of impersonation, they recommended reporting it to the Korea Internet & Security Agency.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
