"Do Not Comply with App Installation Requests"
53.4% of Cases Involve Impersonation of Public Institutions
There has been a growing number of smishing scams, in which fraudsters impersonate authorities to demand payment for traffic violations or illegal waste disposal fines, extorting money through fraudulent text messages. Extra caution is advised.
On September 28, ahead of the Chuseok holiday, the government warned the public to be vigilant against various forms of smishing scams, such as those impersonating public institutions or disguising themselves as online stores for holiday gift purchases in order to steal money.
An analysis of smishing cases detected by relevant authorities over the past three years shows that scams impersonating public institutions accounted for more than half of all cases, with approximately 2.07 million incidents, representing 53.4% of the total.
In particular, during the Chuseok holiday period, scammers are expected to take advantage of increased travel for family visits and higher volumes of food waste to send large numbers of smishing messages impersonating government agencies or local governments, demanding fines and penalty payments.
Additionally, since last year, there has been a rise in scams targeting social media and e-commerce accounts, moving beyond simple personal information theft. Users are advised to be especially careful when entering account information.
Alongside scam texts demanding financial payments, there is also a rising trend in messenger phishing scams, where fraudsters disguise their messages to appear legitimate, then lure victims into phone or messenger app conversations to request money, gift cards, or financial transaction information.
A government official stated, "If a malicious app capable of remote control is installed on your smartphone through a phishing text or phone call, it can lead to not only personal information leaks but also financial losses. Before confirming the identity of the other party through a phone or video call, do not comply with any requests to install apps."
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