Voice phishing

“This is the Korea Customs Service. Tell me your bank account number to get a tax refund.” "This is X Bank. One million won (925 U.S. dollars) have just been withdrawn from your account.” "Your son has been in a car accident and is in the hospital. He needs money.” Anyone who receives these kinds of phone calls would be surprised. Last week, police arrested scammers posing to be prosecutors who allegedly bilked a combined 55.85 million won (51,640 dollars) from the bank accounts of four people after they called them and said, “You are involved in illegal overseas remittance. You need to confirm if the money in your bank accounts is black money.” Even accountants are falling victim to voice phishing.

The long-distance phone fraud is a way of taking money from people by obtaining their financial accounts and credit card and social security numbers. The callers pose as bank clerks, postal workers and even police and prosecutors. Statistics show 70 percent of Koreans have received such fraudulent calls. As many as 25,000 people have lost a combined 260 billion won (240 million dollars) over the last five years from voice phishing since the crime first emerged in Korea, according to police and the Korea Communications Commission. The methods have grown more sophisticated, like calling relatives who are vulnerable to news of their family members being in danger. The elderly are also being duped due to lack of information about the latest scams.

Law enforcement authorities from Korea and China arrested 23 Chinese who allegedly conducted voice phishing targeting Koreans. Posing staff of financial institutions or police, the culprits called Koreans to say their credit cards were stolen and persuaded them to send money to their bank accounts. The group is suspected of bilking millions of dollars from more than 100 people.

Most voice phishers are based overseas including China, and are becoming more sophisticated. This makes it difficult to track them without joint investigations with international forces. It is nearly impossible to get cooperation from countries that have no treaty on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters. The latest crackdown was helped by the international money investigation team of the Supreme Prosecutors Office, a unit that analyzes cases of fraud and investigation information and tracks the results. The team sent the information to Chinese authorities.

In Taiwan, people who suspect voice phishing can press a button during a call for police to check the conversation in real time. Yet a large number of Koreans are less willing to call financial institutions and investigative agencies even for simple civil services due to voice phishing. A vicious crime such as voice phishing that rattles the foundation of a credit-based society should be rooted out once and for all.