Fraudsters are exploiting low-credit borrowers by luring them with promises of loans, only to obtain their bank accounts and debit cards. These accounts are then misused as channels to receive funds from other voice phishing victims, with the money laundered through gift cards.
On August 9, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) revealed a new voice phishing scheme involving gift cards and issued a consumer alert.
According to the FSS, scammers impersonate employees of savings banks and other financial institutions to approach low-income individuals who struggle to secure loans due to poor credit scores. They deceive victims by claiming, "Your loan was denied due to insufficient card usage. If you repeatedly purchase gift cards with your debit card, you will qualify for a loan limit."
They then request, "I will buy the gift cards for you, but please hand over your debit card and bank account." Once they secure the account, it is used to receive loan repayments from other voice phishing victims.
Scammers also approach other victims with offers of low-interest refinancing loans, misleading them into believing they must first repay their existing loan principal. They then direct these victims to send money to the previously secured account. Once the funds are deposited, accomplices purchase large quantities of gift cards at self-service kiosks in supermarkets, convert them to cash, and then exchange the cash for virtual assets to send to overseas masterminds.
Individuals who hand over their bank accounts or debit cards while seeking loans may also be considered complicit in voice phishing crimes and could face criminal charges.
To prevent the spread of voice phishing involving gift cards, the FSS has reduced the purchase limit for gift cards at self-service kiosks from 5 million won per transaction to 1 million won per transaction and per day. They also plan to monitor for potential circumvention of these limits or balloon effects through other distribution channels.
Additionally, the FSS will expand information sharing among related agencies through the voice phishing information-sharing and analysis AI platform, 'ASAP,' and will share the latest crime methods and on-site response strategies.
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.