[Getty Images Bank]
[Getty Images Bank]

The most prevalent financial fraud tactic targeting consumers in the first half of this year was smishing — fraudulent text messages disguised as financial transaction alerts such as payment approvals, deposits and refund notices. Scammers are increasingly mimicking real financial transactions to pressure victims into taking immediate action, and consumers are urged to exercise particular caution.

Kakao Bank said Wednesday it analyzed 10,024 suspected smishing texts submitted through its "AI Smishing Text Check" service between January and June, finding that messages impersonating financial transaction notifications accounted for the largest share at 33%.

The "AI Smishing Text Check" service lets users copy and paste suspicious texts for analysis by a high-performance AI, which then assesses the message's credibility. It classifies texts into four categories: high smishing risk, safe, simple spam and indeterminate.

Financial transaction-related smishing (33%) was the most commonly identified type. These messages frequently used terms such as "payment approval," "deposit," "refund" and "account verification" to lure users into visiting phishing sites or installing malicious apps.

The second most common category — authentication and personal data verification scams at 28% — primarily exploited users' anxiety by posing as account security checks or personal information confirmations. This type has remained one of the most representative smishing tactics for two consecutive years, carrying over from last year into this year.

Smishing texts drawing on familiar everyday topics also continued to proliferate. By category, public institution notices accounted for 13%, delivery-related texts 11%, acquaintance and social event messages 5%, and other types 10%. Each category was crafted around content users might click on without thinking — traffic violation notices, parcel tracking updates, wedding invitations and obituaries.

To help prevent smishing losses, the Korea Internet & Security Agency recommends not clicking on URLs from unknown sources, always verifying that a website address matches the legitimate site, and entering personal information — including phone numbers, usernames, passwords and verification codes — only on trusted sites.

"Smishing tactics are evolving rapidly, reflecting social issues and users' daily lives," Kakao Bank said. "If you receive a suspicious text, we encourage you to check it through the 'AI Smishing Text Check' service before clicking any link."

Meanwhile, the analysis was conducted by Kakao Bank's AI Data-Driven Team, which categorized the results by type based on key keywords submitted to the "AI Smishing Text Check" service.

Kakao Bank's Financial Technology Research Institute, which developed the service, operates it using a proprietary large language model and BERT, a high-performance AI language model. In addition, Kakao Bank develops its own financial authentication and security solutions — including ID card scanning and recognition, facial authentication and passive authentication — while offering a range of fraud prevention services such as identity theft protection, malicious app detection, transfer delays and designated deposit account settings.


won@heraldcorp.com