Virtual Account Fraud on the Rise... Financial Supervisory Service Issues Consumer Alert 'Caution'

Inducing Deposits into Accounts under Other People's Names and Widespread Use for Money Laundering

"You Should Be Suspicious if Asked to Provide an Account or Transfer Funds under a Third Party's Name"

The Financial Supervisory Service recently issued a consumer alert with a "caution" level on April 19, warning that financial fraudsters are increasingly abusing "virtual accounts" as a tool to withdraw criminal funds.

According to the Financial Supervisory Service, scammers purchase virtual accounts registered under other people's names and use them for their crimes. A virtual account is a type of identification code issued under an actual account, and it is used for payment collection and settlement through payment gateway companies, among others. While virtual accounts are legitimate transaction tools for various purposes, such as paying credit card bills or making shopping mall payments, they can be misused to move and conceal criminal funds.

Fraudsters use these acquired virtual accounts for a range of scams, including voice phishing, regardless of the merchant, or entice credit card holders to hand over their accounts under the pretense of improving their credit scores. In particular, during phishing scams, they induce victims to deposit funds into virtual accounts under third-party names in order to steal money, or they disguise themselves as legitimate companies and use these accounts for money laundering of criminal proceeds.

To prevent such damages, the Financial Supervisory Service emphasized that requests to provide or sell virtual accounts to third parties must always be refused. If you are asked to make a deposit into a virtual account or to an account under a name different from your counterparty or an account that might be mistaken for a financial institution, you should suspect a scam. Additionally, if you have transferred money to a scammer by mistake, you should immediately report it to the National Police Agency's Integrated Response Team as quickly as possible.

A representative from the Financial Supervisory Service stated, "If you use a virtual account under a name different from your counterparty, or provide your own virtual account to a third party, you may become involved in fraudulent transactions," adding, "Special caution is required."

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