The total amount of damage reported by victims of phone fraud in Seoul jumped 10 times this year compared to five years ago, police said Thursday, warning against the risks of new scams.
About 37.4 billion won ($32.4 million) worth of damage was reported this year in Seoul, up from 3.8 billion won in 2006, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency. The number of phone fraud cases, also known as voice phishing, increased from 475 to 3,252 over the same period.
More damage was reported in the second half than in the first half of this year, with the average amount reaching 15 million won per case from 10 million won in the first half, the police said. This was due to a series of new scams, which included the use of Web sites disguised as those of public organizations, they said.
In recent months, scammers also posed as university admissions officials, ordering victims by phone to transfer money as they had been admitted to the school.
In most cases, victims of voice phishing receive random phone calls from swindlers who pose as officials and alert them to problems with their bank accounts. They are then ordered to transfer their entire account balances to other accounts, which scammers siphon off. Most of the scam operators are ethnic Koreans in China who speak fluent Korean.
Victims are now able to retrieve their stolen money more easily under a special law that took effect in September, but only before the money has been withdrawn. (Yonhap)