Bithumb CEO vows to lead fight against impersonation phishing scams

Exchange releases phishing prevention guide; users urged to verify sender addresses, official URLs

Bithumb released a phishing prevention guide on Friday, as losses from text messages, emails and fake websites impersonating exchanges and financial institutions continue to rise. The guide is intended to urge users to exercise caution.

Impersonation phishing attacks have grown increasingly sophisticated, using sender names that closely resemble those of legitimate institutions, URLs that are difficult to distinguish from official sites, and carefully crafted instructional text. If a user clicks a fraudulent link or enters information on a cloned site, account credentials, authentication codes and personal data can all be compromised at once.

Bithumb identified three main phishing methods. The first involves impersonating an exchange or financial institution and sending text messages — such as alerts about "a login attempt detected from an overseas IP address" — to lure users into clicking fake links. A second method uses emails disguised as security checks to redirect users to pages designed to look like the real site. A third exploits search engines by surfacing fake websites so that users enter their information directly.

Falling victim to such phishing attacks can expose a user's account ID and password, two-factor authentication codes (SMS or OTP), mobile phone number, email address, name and date of birth, and financial and payment information. Bithumb particularly warned that users who reuse the same password across multiple services risk spreading the damage beyond their exchange account to other platforms.

To prevent phishing losses, Bithumb advised users to check the full sender address rather than glancing at only part of it. When a message contains urgent language such as "act immediately," users should verify whether the same notice appears on the official app or website before clicking any link. Users should also confirm that a URL matches the official address exactly — and rather than clicking links, it is safer to open the app directly or type the address manually into a browser.

Anyone who has already clicked a suspicious link or entered their information should immediately disconnect from the network and take steps to secure their account. They should then run a thorough scan with antivirus software and update their operating system and other software to the latest version.

Users who notice suspicious activity on their Bithumb account should contact the exchange's Investor Protection Center immediately. Hacking and malware incidents can be reported to the KISA 118 counseling center; voice phishing, smishing and other cyber fraud to the police civil affairs call center at 182 or the 112 emergency line; and financial fraud or disputes to the Financial Supervisory Service at 1332.

"Impersonation phishing is becoming sophisticated enough to be nearly indistinguishable from the real thing," a Bithumb official said. "Making a habit of checking the sender address and official URL is key to preventing harm."

Meanwhile, Bithumb runs a monthly information security awareness campaign. In May, the exchange advised users on how to guard against AI-based voice phishing, warning them to be alert to schemes in which scammers impersonate financial institutions to demand transfers under the guise of low-interest loan refinancing, or clone a family member's voice to pressure victims into sending money.

kyoung@heraldcorp.com