Digital filial piety helps Korea curb voice phishing against seniors

How would parents react if they got this kind of call? In a "social experiment" video the Korean National Police Agency recently posted on YouTube, three of four parents stood up after believing a voice phishing call that said, "You need to withdraw the money in your bank." They sighed in relief only after their children revealed it was a lie for the experiment.

In real life, phishing scams targeting people in their 60s and older continue unabated. Of the 23,360 voice phishing cases last year, 7,294 involved victims in their 60s or older, accounting for 31.2%. The methods are getting more sophisticated.

Checking your parents' smartphones over the Chuseok holiday can be a kind of "digital filial piety." We compiled phishing prevention steps to set up in advance for parents who are not familiar with installing apps or configuring smartphones.

1) Turn on smartphone "phishing prevention features"

First, it is best to turn on the voice phishing and smishing blocking features on the smartphone.

Samsung Electronics (285,500 won ▲ 9,000 3.25%) Galaxy smartphones have a "voice phishing suspected call alert" feature that uses AI to analyze call content in real time and warn of risks. You can enable it in the settings of the phone app.

You can also use the malicious text blocking feature. Tap the three dots (⋮) more icon at the top right of the phone app, then go into settings to enable the voice phishing suspected call alert.

There is also a "malicious message blocking feature." Messages and phone numbers classified as malicious by the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) and the Korean National Police Agency can be automatically blocked in the messages app. If a message from someone in your contacts includes a malicious website link, the link is blocked and only the message is shown.

Tap the three dots (⋮) more icon at the top right of the phone app, then go to Settings → Spam and blocked numbers management → enable malicious message blocking.

Through carrier add-on service apps such as "A.Dot Phone" from SK Telecom (87,100 won ▼ 200 -0.23%) , "Whowho" from KT (52,700 won ▼ 400 -0.75%) , and "ixi-O" from LG Uplus (14,640 won ▲ 70 0.48%) , you can identify suspected voice phishing calls or block spam texts.

2) Install safety blocking apps, and delete unnecessary apps

Signing up for "Safety Block" through the Korea Financial Telecommunications & Clearings Institute's Account Info app also helps prevent phishing crimes. You can preemptively block all of the following through Safety Block: non-face-to-face account openings across the financial sector, Open Banking inquiries, withdrawals, and transfers, and credit transactions (new loans, credit card issuance, etc.). You can use Safety Block not only via the Account Info app but also through financial company apps.

It is also a good idea to delete apps your parents do not use often or installed due to push ads. In particular, you can use the "Citizen Conan" app, partnered with the Korean National Police Agency, to check whether any malicious apps are installed on the smartphone.

3) Save the Financial Supervisory Service 1332 and the integrated response team 1394

If you suspect a phishing crime or have actually been victimized, reporting quickly is essential. As a baseline, you can call police at 112 to handle everything at once, from filing the case to steps such as payment suspension.

You can also provide tips or seek counseling through the Financial Supervisory Service (1332) or the Korean National Police Agency's integrated response team for telecommunications financial fraud (1394). It is wise to save these in your smartphone contacts for emergencies.

Investigators emphasize that to avoid falling victim to crimes such as voice phishing, the most important step is to cut off with the criminals. While practicing "digital filial piety" to prevent phishing this Chuseok, it would be good to also stress the campaign to "doubt, hang up, and verify."