LG Uplus said on Wednesday it has set up a "special customer protection measures" package and launched an emergency response system to prevent a surge in voice phishing and smishing attempts ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.

Data provided by the Korean National Police Agency show the number of voice phishing cases rises sharply in months that include Lunar New Year and Chuseok holidays. The total number of voice phishing crimes last year rose 12.1 percent from the previous year, while cases in months that included the holidays rose 32.5 percent over the same period.

Attempts to spread malicious apps through calls and texts impersonating delivery companies or online shopping malls also increase around the holidays. Once a malicious app is installed on a smartphone, criminal groups can block all incoming calls through a control server. They can also manipulate display information so their calls appear as 112 or 1301 (prosecution), making victims more vulnerable to voice phishing.

LG Uplus will begin intensive monitoring from its Magok office in Seoul during the Lunar New Year holiday period to track and block malicious app servers. It said it is the only telecom operator in South Korea that tracks malicious app control servers run by criminal groups through its AI-based integrated internal and external data analysis and response system, the Customer Damage Prevention Analysis System.

It also plans to maintain a standing cooperation system by establishing a hotline with police to quickly share information if an infected user is found, and to respond immediately to police requests to block servers.

LG Uplus will continue its system of notifying customers of risks via KakaoTalk Alert Talk messages if its analysis confirms a malicious app has been installed, even during the holiday period.

Customers who receive the alert can visit a nearby police station or any LG Uplus store nationwide for help. The company will also strengthen blocking by training AI on types of spam texts that frequently occur during holiday periods. LG Uplus customers can install the "U+ Spam Block" app to automatically block texts suspected of being spam.

LG Uplus urged customers not to click internet links in messages from unclear senders, and to refuse if an unfamiliar call impersonating a customer service center asks them to install an app. It also asked customers to run regular checks using smartphone antivirus apps, and to report confirmed infections by calling 1394, the main number of the Korean National Police Agency's integrated response unit for telecommunications and financial fraud, from another person's phone.