LG Uplus said on the 12th that it has prepared a special customer protection plan and entered an emergency response posture to prevent customer damage from the surge in voice phishing and smishing attempts ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.
According to data provided by the Korean National Police Agency, the number of voice phishing crimes in months that include the Lunar New Year and Chuseok holidays has risen sharply recently. The total number of voice phishing crimes last year increased 12.1% compared with 2024, while during the same period, months that included holidays saw a 32.5% increase in voice phishing crimes.
In particular, caution is needed as there has been a rise in attempts to distribute malicious apps through calls and text messages that impersonate delivery companies asking to "share the address to receive a Lunar New Year gift parcel," or that impersonate online shopping malls saying "you need to check your payment details."
If a malicious app is installed on a smartphone, the criminal group can block all incoming calls to the smartphone through a control server, and manipulate outgoing calls from the criminal group to display as 112 or 1301 (prosecutors), making victims more vulnerable to voice phishing.
Accordingly, LG Uplus will begin intensive monitoring at its Magok headquarters in Seoul during the Lunar New Year holiday period to track and block malicious app servers. Through its AI-based integrated internal and external data analysis and response system, the Customer Damage Prevention Analysis System, LG Uplus is the only domestic carrier tracking the control servers of malicious apps operated by criminal groups.
It also has established a hotline with police to maintain a constant cooperation system, such as promptly sharing information when a malicious app infection is found, and will respond immediately to police requests for blocking.
Even during the holiday, LG Uplus will continue a system that notifies customers of risk situations by sending KakaoTalk Notification Talk messages if its own analysis confirms a malicious app installation. Customers who receive the notification can visit a nearby police station or any LG Uplus store nationwide for needed assistance.
In addition, LG Uplus decided to strengthen preventive measures by training AI on spam text types that frequently occur during the holiday period to enhance blocking. LG Uplus customers can install the U+ Spam Block app to automatically block texts suspected of being spam.
LG Uplus also urged customers not to click internet links in messages with unclear senders and to refuse if an unfamiliar call impersonating a customer center asks them to install an app. It also requested that people regularly scan with a smartphone antivirus app and, if a malicious app infection is confirmed, report it by calling 1394, the main number for the Korean National Police Agency's Integrated Response Center for Electronic Communications Financial Fraud, using someone else's phone.
Hong Gwan-hee, LG Uplus chief information security officer and chief privacy officer (executive director), said, "Voice phishing attempts are difficult even for experts to distinguish, so please treat unfamiliar calls or texts with suspicion," adding, "In particular, customers who receive an LG Uplus malicious app caution Notification Talk are in an emergency situation, so be sure to visit a nearby police station or an LG Uplus store."