SKT User Loses 50 Million Won in Smishing Attack Unrelated to Server Hacking (Comprehensive)

Clicked on a Phishing Link Disguised as Funeral Notice
Reported Financial Loss by Man in His 60s in Busan

A man in his 60s living in Busan, who is an SK Telecom mobile phone user, suffered a financial loss of 50 million won withdrawn from his bank account after a new phone line was opened in his name without his knowledge. This incident initially raised suspicions of a financial crime caused by a server hacking incident at SK Telecom. However, it was later revealed to have resulted from a smishing attack.

On April 28, Yonhap News reported that the Nambu Police Station in Busan, which is investigating the report filed by the victim, identified as Mr. A, believes the incident was caused by a smishing attack targeting his mobile device and is currently investigating the exact circumstances. According to the police and other sources, on April 22, Mr. A's SKT mobile phone suddenly became unresponsive, prompting him to visit a service center. There, he discovered that his SKT mobile phone contract had been terminated and that a new KT budget phone had been activated under his name.

On the same day, a total of 50 million won was transferred from Mr. A's account to an unknown recipient in five separate transactions of 10 million won each. Upon discovering this, Mr. A reported the incident to the police and requested his bank to suspend payments from his account.

On the 28th, customers waiting to replace their SIM cards visited an official SK Telecom certified agency in Mapo-gu, Seoul. SK Telecom plans to offer free SIM card replacement services to subscribers starting today. April 28, 2025. Photo by Kang Jinhyung

Clicked Suspicious Link..."Unrelated to SIM Card Information Leak"

It was found that Mr. A had previously clicked a link in a phishing message disguised as a funeral notice. As a result, it appears that he fell victim to a smishing attack in which personal information was stolen from his mobile phone. Authorities explained, "This account transfer incident does not appear to be related to a SIM card information leak caused by a server hacking incident at SK Telecom."

Meanwhile, on April 19, SK Telecom detected signs that a large amount of SIM card information belonging to SKT subscribers had been leaked due to a hacker's malware attack. However, at a press conference on April 25, SK Telecom stated that there had been no actual cases of information leakage resulting from the hacking incident.

Beginning at 10 a.m. on April 28, SK Telecom began offering free SIM card replacements to interested customers at approximately 2,600 SK Telecom agencies (T World stores) nationwide. Eligible customers are those who subscribed to SK Telecom's mobile service before midnight on April 18, when protective measures such as system isolation were implemented following the security breach.

Class Action Lawsuits and Subscriber Exodus Inevitable

There are also moves among subscribers to file a class action lawsuit. Law firm Rojipsa announced, "We plan to file a class action lawsuit on behalf of SK Telecom subscribers who suffered damages from the recent SIM (USIM) information hacking incident."

Lee Jungyeop, the representative attorney at Rojipsa, said, "We are accepting applications for the SK Telecom hacking class action lawsuit through our class action platform and website. This hacking incident resulted in the leakage of SK Telecom subscribers' SIM card information to external parties. This is a serious breach of personal information that could lead to secondary damages such as the activation of cloned phones, voice phishing, and financial fraud. It is an unprecedented event on a global scale." A 'SK Telecom Personal Information Leak Class Action Lawsuit Cafe' has been created on Naver. As of 4 p.m. on April 28, the number of members in this cafe had exceeded 25,000.

The impact from subscriber attrition also appears inevitable. According to the telecommunications industry, on April 26, 1,665 SK Telecom subscribers switched to other carriers.

Of these, 1,280 subscribers switched to KT and 385 switched to LG Uplus. Including those who switched to budget phone services, the total number of subscribers who left SK Telecom is expected to be even higher. Normally, the number of daily SK Telecom subscriber losses does not exceed 200, but the fact that over 1,000 subscribers left in a single day is being attributed to the hacking incident.