Card loans delayed to counter fraud

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Card loans delayed to counter fraud

From today, first-time borrowers requesting personal loans in excess of 3 million won ($2,577) on their credit cards will have them granted after a two-hour delay in a bid to crack down on voice phishing fraud.

According to the Financial Supervisory Service, 72 percent of victims of voice phishing realize they have been duped within two hours of receiving a phony call from someone impersonating an official and showing a trusted but false telephone number.

Moreover, 87 percent of those taken in had never previously taken out a card loan, the agency said.

Voice phishing has become a serious problem in recent years.

In most cases, the victim receives a call informing that the person on the other end of the line is a police officer, a prosecutor or even an employee of one of the nation’s financial regulators.

They tell the victim that their personal information has been compromised and ask them to verify a few personal details including their credit card pin number.

The fraudsters then use this to take out loans using a borrowed identity.

According to the authorities, the victims often give out their personal information as they panic and believe they are cooperating with the authorities.

By the time they realize they have been taken in, the loan has already been granted under their name.

Samsung Card, Hyundai Card and Korea Exchange Bank card will be the first to put the delay into effect starting today.

Lotte Card will follow suit on May 20, with Shinhan Card, Hana SK Card and KB Kookmin Card joining them on May 21.

However, the delay will not apply to those who request amounts below 3 million won or for people who have previously borrowed larger sums.
By Lee Ho-jeong [ojlee82@joongang.co.kr]
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