LG Uplus will activate a 24-hour special response system ahead of the Chuseok holiday, centered on the AI-based Customer Damage Prevention Analysis System (Secure.AI+).

LG Uplus said on Saturday it will operate a dedicated monitoring system at its Seoul Magok office through the end of this month and strengthen efforts to track and block malicious app control servers.

During holiday periods, scams frequently occur in which fraudsters impersonate delivery companies to induce victims to install malicious apps. Recently, cases have also been increasing in which victims are encouraged to invest through unverified illegal investment sites or unofficial trading apps and are induced to install malicious apps.

LG Uplus will use Secure.AI+, an AI-based integrated internal and external data analysis and response system, to track malicious app control servers operated by voice phishing groups. The company said it is the only telecom carrier in South Korea to directly track malicious app control servers.

If its analysis confirms traces that a customer's device has communicated with a malicious app control server, it sends a KakaoTalk Alert Talk message to warn of the risk. Customers who receive the alert can visit a nearby police station or an LG Uplus store for consultations and necessary measures. LG Uplus plans to set up a hotline with police to share related information and respond immediately to police requests to block them.

LG Uplus urged customers not to click internet addresses (URLs) contained in messages from unclear sources and to immediately end calls if asked to install an app by someone impersonating a customer service center or a public institution. If a malicious app infection is suspected, customers should report it from another mobile phone to the National Police Agency's Integrated Reporting and Response Center for Telecommunications and Financial Fraud at 1394.

Hong Kwan-hee (홍관희), head of LG Uplus' information security center and chief information security officer, said, "We will operate a 24-hour monitoring system before and after the Chuseok holiday and do our utmost to prevent customer 피해," adding, "Customers who receive an Alert Talk warning about malicious app risks should immediately visit the nearest police station or LG Uplus store to take necessary measures."