"Loan Approval if You Accumulate Gift Certificate Purchases"...New Voice Phishing Scam Triggers Consumer Alert

FSS: "Handing Over Account Information Could Lead to Criminal Charges"

A new type of voice phishing scam has been uncovered, in which fraudsters lure individuals with poor credit by promising loans, then obtain their debit cards and bankbooks to launder stolen funds by converting them into gift certificates at kiosks and cashing them out. The Financial Supervisory Service has issued a consumer alert and urged the public to exercise special caution.

According to the Financial Supervisory Service on August 9, there has recently been a series of cases where voice phishing crime organizations have laundered stolen funds by exchanging them for gift certificates at unmanned kiosks inside large supermarkets.

The scammers impersonate employees of savings banks or other financial institutions and approach people with low credit scores, deceiving them by saying, "You can qualify for a loan if you accumulate a certain amount in gift certificate purchases." They then obtain the individuals' debit cards and bankbooks.

The scammers use the acquired accounts as channels to receive stolen funds from other voice phishing victims. When the stolen money is deposited into the account, they quickly purchase large amounts of gift certificates at unmanned kiosks and then convert those certificates into cash.

While victims may believe they are following legitimate loan procedures by handing over their bankbooks and debit cards, in reality, they are seen as having provided accounts for criminal activity, which may subject them to criminal prosecution themselves.

In response, the Financial Supervisory Service, in consultation with gift certificate issuers at major supermarkets and similar venues, has lowered the purchase limit for gift certificates from 5 million won per transaction to 1 million won per day and per transaction.

A Financial Supervisory Service official stated, "The claim that 'purchasing gift certificates will enable you to get a loan' is 100% a scam," and emphasized, "The moment you hand over your bankbook or debit card, you risk becoming a suspect rather than a victim—so please be extremely cautious."

The official further advised, "If you have handed over your card and then belatedly realize something is wrong, you should immediately report the loss or suspension to the relevant financial institution to halt account transactions and then notify the police."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.