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Phishers outpacing law enforcement

Published: 18 Aug. 2024, 20:11

Kang Joo-an
The author is an editorial writer of the JoongAng Ilbo.

We are used to the crawling pace of administrative actions. But the way police and financial authorities straggle and meander in dealing with ever-evolving phishing scams is ridiculous and loathsome.

Mr. A, whose name cannot be disclosed, had lost his entire post-retirement wealth of 1.7 billion won ($1.25 million) after he followed an instruction to an email he received upon subscribing to a YouTube channel of an author of a book on investment. As soon as he wired investment funds, the schemers went into hiding. It is a typical type of an email phishing on a specific target. Phishing victims can request a suspension on the wronged bank account. It has been 13 years since victims have been asked to immediately report to the police through its 112 call center for phishing damages and file for a freeze in bank accounts to stop withdrawals. Mr. A also sought police help. But the police officer at the call center said the instant freeze could be difficult as his case could be an investment fraud rather than a phishing scam and advised him to make a direct visit to a police station. He thus lost the golden moment to stop the theft on his wealth. The Police Agency in Daejon have yet to catch the predators or trace the money. He went to the publisher of the book and finally got in contact with the author. But the author could not help him, claiming that the email could have been sent by someone who impersonated him.

There are numerous other cases in which bank account blocks are rejected. Job scams are another type of common online fraud. Housewives easily fall prey to ads offering remote gigs to steal their money and information. Low-credit borrowers also make an easy target for account frauds. Their files go overseas, and yet their request for an account freeze is rejected. Financial institution staff cannot help them because a freeze in withdrawals are allowed for only two types of scams: those posing as government agencies or loan frauds. As a result, investment or job scams cannot be helped by law enforcement.

The specific guideline makes the job easy for scammers. It tells them to avoid impersonating prosecutors or the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) or financial institutions offering loans if they want to steal money. Those posing as shopping malls or investment firms can get away. This is why online scams are proliferating. A remarkable growth in victims suggest their booming industry. A chatroom in KakaoTalk of phishing victims that numbered 80 in July last year has expanded five-fold in a year. The online community manager said that visitors reached over 730 at one time and now average at 490.

Government files suggest authorities agree that such schemes fall into the phishing category. In February, the Office of Government Policy Coordination announced measures to fight phishing scams, including frauds through social media to promise generous returns on investments and hiring ploys.

Account block can greatly minimize the damage, according to FSS files. Of the theft of 196.5 billion won last year, 65.2 billion won could be returned through a freeze on withdrawals. But scammers can abuse loopholes in the account freeze in many ways. The FSS said a self-employed person got ripped off by a schemer who reported a phishing case to the authorities after intentionally wiring a small amount of money into his bank account and demanded money from him to unlock the account. While victims are being rejected in their requests to freeze their violated accounts, scammers are nonchalantly doing it for money. A victim of a job scam was even approached by a scammer who offered to suspend her violated account on behalf of a bank. The 50-something housewife who lost her wealth of 100 million won was questioned by police for “false reporting” even though she naively followed orders of a scammer.