Home > National > Social Affairs

Man who lost $34,700 fell victim to smishing, not SKT data breach, investigators say

Published: 28 Apr. 2025, 19:50

A smishing scam message on a mobile phone [YONHAP NEWS TV]

An SK Telecom user was robbed of 50 million won ($34,700), not due to the mobile carrier's recent data breach, but a so-called "smishing" attack, according to police.

The Busan Nambu Police Precinct is investigating the case, in which a man in his 60s reported that an unknown person opened a mobile account in his name and withdrew funds from his bank account. Investigators believe the incident resulted from a smishing attack that compromised the man's device, according to police and IT officials.

The man discovered Tuesday that his SK Telecom phone service had been abruptly terminated. When the man visited a service center, he learned that someone had signed up for a budget plan with mobile service competitor KT under his name without authorization.

The man later found that 50 million won had been transferred from his bank account to unknown recipients in five separate transactions. He immediately filed a report with the Busan Nambu Police Precinct and requested his bank to halt further payments.

The man suspected the cause might be related to the SK Telecom SIM hacking incident on April 19. Since SIM cards store personal identification and authentication information necessary for mobile network access, he believed that hackers may have used his information to open a new phone line and withdraw funds from his account.

However, after a joint investigation, authorities concluded that the man had fallen victim to a smishing attack, a form of phishing attack using text messages to obtain personal information. He had clicked on a phishing link disguised as an obituary notice, allowing attackers to compromise his device and steal personal information.

Authorities emphasized that the case had no connection to the SK Telecom server hacking or any leak of SIM card information.

"The fund transfer incident appears unrelated to the recent SK Telecom server breach," authorities said.

SK Telecom also stated that the case likely had no connection to the hacking incident. "There have been no verified cases of information misuse stemming from the leak," an SK Telecom spokesperson said.

"Financial transactions would require highly sensitive information, including resident registration numbers and authentication credentials, and there is no evidence that such data was leaked through the hacking."

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY KIM JI-HYE [[email protected]]