Illegal financial ads exploiting mobile phone payments quadruple

Illegal ads exploiting mobile phone micropayment cash-outs have quadrupled over the past five years. Experts warn that teenagers and people with low credit scores often have difficulty recognizing such ads as illegal loans. Those in urgent need of quick cash should exercise increased caution.

According to the office of Park Sang-hyuk of the Democratic Party, a member of the National Assembly’s Finance and Economy Committee, the Financial Supervisory Service took action against 2,423 illegal financial advertisements related to mobile phone micropayment cash-outs during the first half of this year, including deleting online posts. This accounted for 59.4% of the 4,082 cases recorded for the entire previous year. The monthly average of posts removed or acted upon in the first half of 2025 was about 400, a fourfold increase compared with the 2020 monthly average of roughly 100.

Illegal private finance companies exploiting mobile phone micropayment cash-outs primarily target vulnerable groups, such as minors and low- to mid-credit borrowers, who urgently need living expenses. When members of these groups purchase gift certificates through micropayments on behalf of the companies, the illegal operators provide them with cash after deducting a certain fee.

The problem is that this process can increase financial harm for vulnerable individuals. Fees charged by these illegal operators can reach up to 50% annually, and participants must repay the micropayments themselves, adding to their financial burden.


강우석 wskang@donga.com