A whole-of-government response has reduced voice phishing cases and losses for seven straight months.

The government held a meeting on May 27 at the Government Complex Seoul to review the response of the pan-government voice phishing task force chaired by Yoon Chang-ryeol (윤창렬), head of the Office for Government Policy Coordination. Participants included the Ministry of Science and ICT, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Financial Services Commission, the Korea Communications Commission, the Personal Information Protection Commission, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, the National Police Agency and the Financial Supervisory Service.

Since establishing a comprehensive plan to eradicate voice phishing in August last year, the government has pushed steps including launching an integrated response unit for telecom-based financial fraud, emergency blocking of phone numbers used for crime, and building an AI platform for sharing voice phishing information. As a result, voice phishing, which had been rising through September last year compared with the same period a year earlier, saw both cases and losses fall for seven straight months from October last year through April this year.

In that period, the number of voice phishing cases fell 35.3 percent to 9,353 from 14,461 in the same period a year earlier. Losses also fell 35.3 percent to 493.6 billion won from 763.2 billion won. In particular, cases in February this year fell 64.5 percent from a year earlier. March and April also fell 41.2 percent and 44.9 percent, respectively. Losses also continued to decline, falling 55.8 percent in March this year and 54.3 percent in April. The government said it assessed that strengthening measures across the entire process, from initial access to victims through fund theft and on to investigation and arrests, led to the results.

The Korea Communications Commission lowered the volume of text spam received to the lowest level in the past 5 years through illegal spam response policies and public-private cooperation. The Ministry of Science and ICT made it a default feature on Samsung devices and on the phone apps of the three telecom carriers to analyse call content in real time to detect suspected voice phishing calls. It has also applied Enhanced Fraud Protection, a reinforced security program, to Google Android phones to block malicious app installations in real time.

The National Police Agency introduced an emergency blocking system for phishing phone numbers in November last year to block suspected phishing numbers within 10 minutes. The total number of lines blocked on an emergency basis through April this year was 65,638. The Financial Services Commission shared about 266,000 cases of information from October last year through March this year through an AI platform for sharing voice phishing information and blocked losses of about 41.9 billion won.

Authorities also strengthened investigations and recovery of criminal proceeds. The National Police Agency conducted a special crackdown on phishing crimes from September last year through April this year, arresting 26,406 suspects. From January through April, it secured pre-indictment seizure and preservation of confiscation and recovery of criminal proceeds worth 40.7 billion won in 510 scam cases. It also repatriated 137 suspects who fled abroad to Cambodia via charter flights on two occasions. To prevent a balloon effect to nearby countries, it also arrested 288 members of scam organisations in other major countries besides Cambodia and repatriated 151 of them.

The Supreme Prosecutors' Office also booked 246 people and detained 132 from September last year through April this year, centring on a joint investigation unit for voice phishing crimes. The Ministry of Justice revised the Criminal Act to allow courts to sentence up to 30 years in prison when multiple fraud victims occur even if the loss is less than 500 million won.

The meeting discussed measures to respond to new types of scam crimes using social media and messengers, such as investment “leading rooms” and romance scams. It also shared supplementary items for the existing comprehensive measures.

The Financial Services Commission will establish grounds for information sharing to allow restrictions for a certain period on non-face-to-face account openings and electronic financial transactions such as internet banking for people who received prison sentences for voice phishing crimes. The Ministry of Science and ICT will seek from the second half of the year to verify the authenticity of photo information on foreign registration cards to prevent fraudulent activation of mobile phone service for foreigners.

The Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Prosecutors' Office will expand the dissolution of shell companies formed for criminal purposes such as opening mule accounts. In particular, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office will set up a dedicated unit for recovering criminal proceeds at the Seoul Eastern District Prosecutors' Office, which has a dedicated voice phishing department, to build a nonstop system of “voice phishing investigation-criminal proceeds recovery-return of victims' assets.” The Personal Information Protection Commission plans to create legal grounds to punish the purchase and distribution of leaked personal information.

Yoon said voice phishing could be reduced thanks to tearing down barriers between ministries and related agencies working in close cooperation. He urged ministries to work to ensure that supplementary measures to existing steps and measures against new scam crimes are implemented without disruption.