"Who Still Falls for It?" They Mocked... But It Has Returned with More Sophisticated Tactics ['Again' Phishing]

①Damage from January to August Nearly Matches Last Year's Total
'Malicious Apps' Stealing Phones Trending
If Asked to Install Apps, Always Suspect Phishing

Editor's NoteNext year marks 20 years since the first occurrence of voice phishing damage. Nowadays, most people think they know all the criminal methods and direct most of their criticism at the perpetrators. However, criminal organizations operate under meticulous scripts and have evolved with more sophisticated techniques. Anyone who lets their guard down is likely to fall victim helplessly. Asia Economy diagnoses the methods of phishing crimes, the current damage status, and solutions in a four-part series.

Last December, Ms. Song Miseon (alias, 56) received a call from a bank employee who said they could lower her loan interest rate. Normally, she would have ignored and hung up, but at the time, she was worried about financial issues and felt a glimmer of hope. The bank employee said, “Customer, it seems your interest burden is heavy, so I want to help you,” and encouraged her to install an application (app). She was told that to improve her credit rating, she first needed to repay a certain amount, so she transferred 1.8 million won. Then she received a reply saying, “It’s still not enough. You need to send more to get the interest rate reduction.” She immediately reported it to the police, but months later, she only recovered 8,700 won. Ms. Song said, “I thought I would never fall for it, but it seems many people around me have been victims,” adding, “It’s embarrassing to tell anyone, and I still feel a lot of guilt, so it’s very hard.”

Phishing Crime Organizations with Division of Labor and Specialization

From this year, voice phishing crimes have been rampant again. Despite increasingly sophisticated methods, many victims continue to occur. Since anyone can potentially become a victim, the public’s special caution is required.

According to the National Police Agency on the 28th, the number of voice phishing cases decreased by nearly half over five years, from 37,667 cases in 2019 to 18,902 last year, but has turned to an upward trend again this year. The amount of damage from voice phishing from January to August this year reached 462.5 billion won, approaching last year’s total level.

Looking at recent crime patterns, division of labor and specialization have been implemented step-by-step, with thorough planning designed to deceive victims. Generally, voice phishing organizations operate by dividing roles such as the 'boss' who oversees the entire crime, the 'manager' who trains employees on methods, the 'call center' that makes calls to victims, and the 'cash collector' who withdraws or directly receives the deposited money.

Voice phishing crimes are classified into impersonation of investigative agencies such as police or prosecutors, impersonation of financial institutions like banks under the pretense of loans, and messenger phishing that impersonates family or acquaintances via text messages. In the past, impersonation of agencies and loan pretense types were the majority, but since last year, messenger phishing has become prominent. According to the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA), smishing cases reached 503,300 last year. Among them, the 'public institution impersonation' type surged nearly 20 times compared to 2022 (17,726 cases), totaling 350,010 cases.

Calls to Police or Family Redirected to Phishers

Messenger phishing has traditionally involved sending bait messages and inducing victims to call, thereby stealing their money, but it has now evolved into a method using text messages containing URL links themselves. These often impersonate credit card issuance, fine or penalty payment notices, parcel delivery, or notifications of acquaintances’ events.

If the victim clicks the link, a 'malicious app' that can be remotely controlled by phishers is installed, and the phone itself is hijacked. Even if the victim calls 112 (emergency number) or family members, the calls are intercepted and answered by the phishers. Through remote control, they can access banking apps or personal information, leading to secondary damage targeting family and acquaintances. Unlike the previous method of extorting millions at once, this isolates the victim and increases the amount of damage.

Phishing scammers send bait messages containing URL links [Photo by Financial Supervisory Service]

A police official said, “Previously, after transferring a certain amount at once, payment could be stopped, but if the phone itself is hijacked, multiple withdrawals over more than a week cause the damage to increase,” adding, “Although the crime methods have been exposed and the trend has decreased compared to early this year, caution is still necessary.”

If you realize your phone has been hijacked after installing an app, the best method is to immediately turn off the phone itself. This stops the information leaking to the phishers. A KISA official said, “As malicious apps have become more advanced and remote control is possible, switching to airplane mode or turning off the phone is most important,” adding, “After preventing control, report to the police from another phone or install antivirus software.”