South Korea's financial authorities issued a consumer alert on Oct. 6 to prevent consumer harm, citing rising anxiety as personal data breaches continue at financial companies. The authorities said they will immediately raise the alert if damage is confirmed. The authorities said scammers could exploit the time when financial transactions fully resume after holidays. They warned criminals may use leaked personal data such as names and addresses to impersonate financial company employees, pose as normal loan consultations such as low-interest loans or refinancing loans, or approach victims by luring them with compensation for data-leak damage.

They also urged caution, saying scammers could approach victims as if they were providing real loan guidance from a financial company by accurately citing the victim's financial information such as income and loan limits. They said people should not assume contact is legitimate simply because the caller knows their information.

The authorities said scammers may impersonate employees of financial companies or the Financial Supervisory Service and claim victims must protect assets from leak-related harm, while demanding transfers to a specific account. They stressed that financial authorities and financial companies do not ask for passwords or authentication codes by phone or text, and do not demand transfers on the pretext of compensation or account protection. They also said no advance payments or app installations are requested for any reason during the loan process.