Woori casts safety net for phishing victims with free insurance

Woori Bank headquarters building in central Seoul [WOORI BANK]

Woori Bank has introduced the industry's first insurance covering damages incurred by phishing scams, free of charge.

The bank is also rolling out financial support to reduce the interest burden on victims of voice phishing scams, or "vishing," starting in May.

Woori on Thursday held a press conference at its head office in Jung District, central Seoul, to announce its efforts to prevent voice scams and help fraud victims.

The free insurance service was launched on April 2, and covers up to 3 million won ($2,177) per incident. Customers must install Woori Bank’s mobile app designed to prevent voice scams before applying for the insurance in person at a bank branch.

“The majority of customers who applied for the insurance are in their 50s or older,” said Jung Hyun-ok, executive vice president of customer protection at Woori, during the press conference.

“We will continue to promote the insurance service and other preventive measures against voice scams to protect our customers,” said Jung.

Those in their 50s and older accounted for some 65 percent, or 126.4 billion won, of total losses incurred by voice phishing scams in 2023.

Woori Bank also began offering financial support for fraud victims, including a reduction of up to 1.5 percent on loan interest rates for financially vulnerable customers, as well as a 1.5 percent increase in interest on deposits, starting Thursday.

“Voice phishing scams are a global concern, not limited to Korea,” said Woori Bank Deputy General Manager Ryu Jae-wook, adding that “the schemes are getting more and more sophisticated.”

Ryu suggested that “Korea is, as far as we know, likely the only place where the financial authorities and the financial sector are working together to address the issue,” with an agreement signed in October of last year outlining a standard for shared responsibility regarding financial damage inflicted through communication technology.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]