Seoul to crack down on voice phishing calls

SEOUL, April 16 (Yonhap) -- All international calls made to mobile phones in
South Korea will be distinguished by special identification codes, starting May
1, as part of the authorities' efforts to crack down on telephone-based financial
scams, known as voice phishing, the National Police Agency (NPA) said Thursday.
"Local mobile service operators will identify all telephone calls from abroad by
displaying special operator ID codes, such as 001, 002, 005, 006 and 008, on
their subscribers' cell phone screen," the NPA said in a statement.
"The service will allow people to instantly recognize whether the incoming call
is domestic or international. It is primarily intended to prevent voice phishing
scams from abroad," the agency said.
In South Korea, voice phishing scams are increasingly rampant, as a growing
number of swindlers posing as officials of the police, prosecution and financial
institutions are tricking innocent and senior citizens by phone into going to an
ATM and transfering cash after falsely claiming that their private financial
transaction data was leaked.
Police officers say those who lack knowledge about private data management or are
poorly informed about on-line financial transaction systems are vulnerable to the
international telephone scams.
Noting most voice phishing calls here are originating from China, they say that
the special international ID code system will be greatly helpful in reducing the
telephone-based financial fraud.
On Tuesday, a 62-year-old man named Ahn living in Busan sent some 33 million won
(US$24,000) to an unnamed caller who introduced himself as a police officer,
saying Ahn's personal financial information was in danger of being leaked.
A Busan woman in her late 40s was also defrauded of her entire wealth of 86
million won on Wednesday after receiving a scam call from China.
"As the defrauders are based overseas, usually in China, to avoid investigation,
police have come up with the special coding system that helps receivers identify
the international calls," an NPA officer said.
"Starting in November, a text warning 'This is an international call' will
replace the three-digit numerical code. All mobile phone users should now pay
greater attention to the caller ID number whenever receiving phone calls from
those who claim to be police, prosecution, or post office officials," he added.
brk@yna.co.kr
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