The application is designed to shut off the apps that have been confirmed to carry malignant codes, and brings a warning message up on the screen that notifies the user of possible threats of personal information leakage and smishing. (image: Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency)
SEOUL, May 23 (Korea Bizwire) – The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced on May 21 that it had distributed free-of-charge “SClean,” an application which the agency developed would prevent instances smishing or SMS phishing. SClean is a compound word for “smishing” and “cleaner.”
The application is designed to shut off the apps that have been confirmed to carry malignant codes, and brings a warning message up on the screen that notifies the user of possible threats of personal information leakage and smishing, when the user clicks on to a website URL from smishing text.
The safeguard application is also designed to send warning message before installment process begins for the apps that are distributed through unauthorized app stores such as Black Market and Ndoo Market, which have been established to distribute applications with vicious codes.
Smishing is a form of criminal activity using cell phone text messages that deliver malignant codes linked to a website URL, as a bait to induce people to divulge their personal information.
According to the National Police Agency, the cases of smishing have been reported 28,469 times in total and caused almost 5.4 billion won worth of damage last year.
An official in the police agency advised, “It is best not to open at all the messages, website URLs, or files that are unidentified of their sources and erase these files immediately when seen.”
Written by J. H. Kim (jhkim@koreabizwire.com)
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