The number of voice phishing cases and the scale of damage have fallen for seven straight months since October last year.
The government held a meeting to review the response of the "pan-government voice phishing task force (TF)" presided over by Yun Chang-ryeol, Minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, and stated accordingly on the results of the "comprehensive plan to eradicate voice phishing" presented in August last year.
According to the Office for Government Policy Coordination, the number of voice phishing cases in October last year was 9,353, down 35.3% from the same period a year earlier (14,461). During the same period, the amount of damage fell from 763.2 billion won to 493.6 billion won.
The government said it proactively blocked 41.9 billion won in damage from October last year to March through the Financial Services Commission's voice phishing information-sharing platform. Through the Korean National Police Agency's "special crackdown on phishing crimes," 40.7 billion won in criminal proceeds related to 510 scam cases from January to April was preserved for confiscation and collection before indictment.
Going forward, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) plans to establish a legal basis for information sharing with investigative agencies and the Financial Supervisory Service so it can restrict the electronic financial transactions of people who received prison sentences for voice phishing for a certain period. The Supreme Prosecutors' Office will set up a department dedicated to the recovery of criminal proceeds at the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office to build a system that links investigation, recovery, and return.
As a response to new scam methods, when a new scam crime is identified, the government will suspend accounts until customer verification is completed under the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information. After that, the Financial Services Commission's Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) will review the account suspension process and lift the transaction suspension for accounts deemed unlikely to be used for crimes.