Government: "If a Consumption Coupon Guidance Message Contains a 'URL Link', It Is 100% a Scam"

Government and Card Companies Announce
No URLs Will Be Sent Under Any Circumstances

As text message payment scams (smishing) related to the Livelihood Recovery Consumption Coupon guidance are expected to become more prevalent, the government has emphasized that "if a guidance text message contains a URL link, it is 100% a scam."

On July 10, the government released a joint statement with relevant ministries, stating, "The government and financial institutions do not include URLs or links in guidance messages, so never click on them," and added, "Please report any suspicious messages, such as payment scams, to '118.'

To prevent smishing damage in advance, the government, together with credit card companies and local currency operators, will not send any text messages or SNS messages containing URLs or links related to the Livelihood Recovery Consumption Coupon. Therefore, if a message is deemed suspicious, do not click on it under any circumstances and delete it immediately. If you have already opened the message, make sure not to click on any URLs.

Additionally, when applying for the Livelihood Recovery Consumption Coupon online, the government plans to include a warning about smishing on the application page. For digitally vulnerable groups, such as the elderly, smishing warnings will also be provided during face-to-face applications at banks and local government offices.

Furthermore, to prevent smishing damage, citizens are encouraged to actively use the National Secretary advance notification service and to pay close attention if they receive guidance messages via SNS that impersonate credit card companies, banks, or come from unclear sources.

Starting from July 14, the government will also send smishing prevention messages sequentially under the names of each telecommunications company. In addition, warnings will be posted on government and local government websites when providing information about the application and distribution of the consumption coupon, and smishing alerts will be sent using the National Secretary notification service.

To proactively respond to smishing, monitoring of smishing incident reports through the Financial Supervisory Service, National Police Agency, and Korea Internet & Security Agency will be strengthened. The government will analyze reported smishing information and immediately block those distributing related links. Upon receipt of a damage report, authorities will promptly begin investigations and make every effort to minimize harm.