Scam text messages promising "holiday subsidies" or gift deliveries ahead of the Chuseok holiday are spreading, designed to steal personal and financial information or trick recipients into installing malicious apps.
The Broadcasting, Media and Communications Commission warned users on the 17th that bait messages such as "Enter your delivery information for your gift" and "Chuseok holiday event" are likely to circulate ahead of the holiday.
The commission said it had asked telecom carriers and handset makers including Samsung Electronics to strengthen intelligent spam filtering, working with the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA).
The messages typically prompt recipients to enter home addresses or bank account numbers, or to install malicious apps that harvest personal and financial data. They can also lead to further damage, including remote control of the phone to send illegal spam without the user's knowledge.
Legitimate text messages do not ask for unnecessary personal information or account numbers, the commission said, stressing that users should verify messages from unclear sources that contain internet addresses before responding.
Suspicious messages can be checked through the "smishing" menu on the KakaoTalk channel operated by KISA, where users can paste the text to see whether it is legitimate. Android users can block installations of apps from unknown sources by turning on the automatic security-risk blocking feature in their settings.
Recipients of illegal spam can report it to KISA through a dedicated reporting app, a simplified reporting function on their mobile phones or the agency's 118 call center.
The Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service have distributed a list of 10 rules for preventing voice phishing, which includes hanging up on calls about identity theft or criminal investigations, suspecting AI manipulation even when a caller sounds like a family member, refusing instructions to install apps, avoiding clicks on unclear links and signing up for a service that blocks unauthorized account openings.
