From Fake Prosecutors to Malicious Apps: The Evolving Tactics of Korea’s Phone Scammers

Kim Sung-joo, Commissioner General of the National Investigation Headquarters, featured in a voice phishing prevention video. (Image courtesy of Korean National Police Agency)

SEOUL, Aug. 29 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s police are intensifying efforts to combat a surge in voice phishing scams, which authorities now describe as a “social disaster” threatening every generation.

The National Police Agency on Thursday unveiled five public service videos on YouTube — including one in which a senior police official receives a scam call during his own inauguration — to underscore that no one is immune. The ca

mpaign, carrying the tagline “Don’t become the protagonist of a scripted crime,” will run for a month on television, in cinemas, subway stations, and through financial institutions and telecom operators.

The urgency reflects mounting losses. Between January and July, authorities recorded 14,707 cases of voice phishing, with damages totaling 776.6 billion won ($570 million) — nearly double the losses of the same period a year earlier. Incidents rose 25.3 percent.

Scams impersonating prosecutors, police, or financial regulators accounted for three-quarters of the total losses, or 586.7 billion won. These cases are increasingly costly, averaging more than 75 million won per victim.

Voice phishing via malicious apps using the ‘call interception’ method. (Image courtesy of Korean National Police Agency)

While older Koreans have long been considered the most vulnerable, police said more than half of victims this year were in their 30s or younger, with middle-aged and elderly groups making up about 43 percent.

Tactics have grown more elaborate. Beyond impersonating officials, scammers use malicious apps to seize control of phones, extract personal data, and monitor calls and locations. Fake websites and fabricated documents are presented to convince victims they are implicated in crimes.

Some schemes rely on psychological manipulation, or “gaslighting,” keeping victims under control for days before requesting money. In extreme cases, victims are coerced into writing apology letters or isolating themselves in hotels, a practice authorities call “self-confinement phishing.”

Other schemes include posing as postal workers delivering fraudulent credit cards, or luring financially strained citizens with bogus refinancing offers.

“Voice phishing is a crime that can strike anyone, anywhere, and it must be treated as a nationwide threat,” said Park Sung-joo, head of the National Office of Investigation. He urged the public to be especially wary of suspicious app installations and text messages mimicking friends or family.

M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)