Boise Phishing Cases Fall for 10 Straight Months... Government Bolsters Prevention With AI and Telecom
IT DAILY ·
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The government held a meeting of the 'TF on a Government-Wide Response to Voice Phishing' on the 2nd and reviewed the one-year results of the 'Comprehensive Measures to Eradicate Voice Phishing' announced last year.
According to the government's announcement, both the number of voice phishing cases and the amount of damage fell from October last year to July this year, with the number of cases dropping 39.9% from 20,900 to 12,554.
Over the same period, the amount of damage fell 43.2% from KRW 1.1137 trillion to KRW 632.4 billion, and the government strengthened its response system and reporting and blocking systems.
The government held a meeting of the 'TF on a Government-Wide Response to Voice Phishing' on the 2nd and reviewed the one-year results of the 'Comprehensive Measures to Eradicate Voice Phishing' announced last year.
The agenda was focused on checking the results of implementing the 'Comprehensive Measures to Eradicate Voice Phishing' announced last year. Through this, the government examined the progress of the shift in the voice phishing response system.
The 'Comprehensive Measures to Eradicate Voice Phishing' were designed to move away from a post-incident response centered on individual agencies. They were also drawn up around preventive and preemptive responses and an integrated cooperation system among related agencies.
The government's response system shifted from a post-incident damage-control model to one centered on prevention and preemptive response. Accordingly, stronger cooperation among agencies was also pursued.
According to the government's announcement, voice phishing crimes had been on the rise through September last year. However, from October last year to July this year, both the number of cases and the amount of damage showed a downward trend, and the number of voice phishing cases and the amount of damage fell for 10 straight months.
The number of voice phishing cases from October 2024 to July 2025 was 20,900, and the number from October 2025 to July 2026 was tallied at 12,554. The rate of decline in the number of cases was 39.9%.
Over the same period, the amount of damage fell from KRW 1.1137 trillion to KRW 632.4 billion, a decline of 43.2%. Along with this drop in damage, the government expanded and reorganized the 'Integrated Reporting and Response Center for Telecommunications Financial Fraud,' launched at the National Police Agency last October, into the 'Integrated Response Unit for Telecommunications Financial Fraud.'
Six agencies — the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Korea Communications Commission, the Financial Services Commission, the Financial Supervisory Service, the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA), and the Korea Financial Telecommunications and Clearings Institute — dispatched 10 people to the Integrated Response Unit, establishing a joint work system among the six agencies based on this. The unit has significantly increased its staffing since its launch.
Previously, voice phishing reports could only be filed during weekday daytime hours, and the existing report response rate stood at around 60%. But after the Integrated Response Unit was launched, reports could be filed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and the response rate was maintained at around 98%.
The government also strengthened the rapid blocking system for phone numbers used in crimes. The National Police Agency worked with KISA, the three major telecom companies, and Samsung Electronics to reinforce blocking measures.
In this regard, the National Police Agency has implemented the 'emergency blocking system' since November last year. Under the system, both incoming and outgoing functions of phone numbers used for voice phishing are suspended for 7 days.
Related agencies, including the Ministry of Science and ICT, are showing moves to strengthen their response systems. The ministry has established a step-by-step response system covering malicious text messages, access to malicious URLs, and installation of malicious applications (apps).
Accordingly, it began blocking access to malicious URLs included in text messages last April, and in June this year it built a system to block the sending of text messages using invalid numbers and spoofed numbers. Since November last year, it has been working with Google to apply an enhanced security program (EFP) to all Android phones and block the automatic installation of malicious apps.
Related agencies are also strengthening responsibility and sanctions on telecom operators. They amended the Telecommunications Business Act to prevent the opening and circulation of so-called mule phones and to block caller ID spoofing at the source.
Last June, they announced the 'Comprehensive Measures to Prevent Illegal Use of Mobile Phones.' The core of the 'Comprehensive Measures to Prevent Illegal Use of Mobile Phones' is preemptive responses to identity theft, lending of identities, and corporate phones, as well as stronger sanctions.
Authorities have strengthened information sharing among agencies and sanctions and crackdowns in order to respond to voice phishing, illegal spam, and crimes involving misuse of phones. They raised the level of response by using AI for information sharing among financial, telecommunications, and investigative agencies.
The Financial Services Commission built an AI platform to rapidly share voice phishing-related information and established an AI-platform-based information-sharing system. This system is used for account suspension, telecom blocking, and suspect arrests.
In March, the Korea Communications Commission amended the Network Act to strengthen sanctions against illegal spam and the illegal use of mobile phones. The revisions included a measure allowing fines of up to 6% of related sales revenue for those involved in illegal spam and provisions enabling the confiscation and collection of criminal proceeds, with the aim of establishing a system to recover unjust gains. Since January this year, the National Police Agency has carried out measures other than emergency blocking of crime-related phone numbers and detected and blocked more than 45,500 phone lines opened for criminal purposes. It also launched a focused crackdown on relay devices used to spoof caller IDs starting in May and confiscated more than 10,000 units.
Authorities are also pursuing the establishment of a comprehensive response system for 'multi-victim fraud,' including new and variant scam methods. To this end, they are pushing legislation for the 'Act on the Prevention of Multi-Victim Fraud Using Telecommunications.'
Source: IT DAILY · Seong Won-young
Original: https://www.itdaily.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=241376
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Source: IT DAILY
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