People Power Party lawmaker Kwon Young-jin [Kwon Young-jin's office]
People Power Party lawmaker Kwon Young-jin [Kwon Young-jin's office]

Although the number of voice phishing cases has declined over the past five years, total losses have surged, meaning each incident is inflicting far greater financial damage on victims than before.

According to an analysis of data submitted by the Korean National Police Agency to People Power Party lawmaker Kwon Young-jin of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee, voice phishing losses last year totaled 1.26 trillion won ($925 million).

The average loss per case, calculated by dividing total damages by the number of incidents, more than doubled over the five-year period — rising from about 25 million won to 53.84 million won, a 2.2-fold increase.

The number of reported cases fell from 30,982 in 2021 to 21,832 in 2022 and 18,902 in 2023.

Incidents then climbed back to 20,839 in 2024 and 23,360 last year, though that figure still represents a 24.6 percent decrease from 2021.

The more pressing concern, however, is the dramatic rise in losses per case.

Total damages stood at 774.4 billion won in 2021, fell to 543.8 billion won in 2022 and 447.2 billion won in 2023, then jumped to 854.5 billion won in 2024.

Last year the figure soared to 1.26 trillion won — up 47.2 percent from the previous year and 62.4 percent from 2021.

The tactics used by fraudsters are also shifting. Schemes that once lured victims with fake loan offers have given way to impersonation of public institutions such as prosecutors and the Financial Supervisory Service, with criminals pressuring victims into transferring money.

Cases involving impersonation of government agencies jumped 89.9 percent, from 7,017 in 2021 to 13,323 last year.

"If someone claiming to be from a law enforcement or financial institution tells you to move money or transfer funds — citing alleged criminal involvement — hang up immediately and verify the facts directly through the official contact information of that institution," Kwon said.


kbj7653@heraldcorp.com