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Police warn South Korea with mass texts after financial

Biz.Chosun • October 12, 2026

The text messages will warn people to be cautious of approaches that impersonate financial institutions and claim they will adjust interest rates or the loan limit, or that demand information and induce remittances under the pretext of compensation for personal data leaks or account protection.

They will also advise people not to click internet addresses (URLs) of unclear origin or install apps, and to the customer service center of the relevant financial institution or call 112 or 1394 for consultation if they receive a suspicious .

Police decided to send alert and warning texts as a preemptive prevention measure because secondary damage, such as voice phishing and smishing that exploit the recent hacking incident in the financial sector, is expected.

This hacking incident targeting the financial sector came to light as a series of breaches were confirmed between the end of last month and early this month at seven financial firms, including Shinhan, KB Kookmin, Hana, BNK Busan Bank, Yegaram Savings Bank, Welcome Savings Bank, and Hyundai Capital.

Although the internet addresses (IPs) that attacked commercial banks, savings banks, and capital companies were different, indications were detected that the same attacker changed IPs and targeted multiple financial firms with similar methods.

The full story

This article is one source in a clustered incident — the cluster page carries the summary, timeline and every other outlet covering it.

South Korean Banks Targeted in AI-Driven Data Breaches In late September 2026, hackers employed AI tools to breach seven South Korean financial firms, compromising data from 40,000 Yegaram Savings Bank customers and 25,000 Shinhan Bank customers. The Financial Security Institute had previously warned these firms about similar AI attacks at a seminar on September 17. The attackers used ARTEX, an open-source penetration-testing tool, and exploited vulnerabilities in services the banks operated, including loan inquiry pages and mobile apps. Police have issued mass text warnings to the public to be cautious of phishing attempts related to the breaches. The attacks have raised concerns about the security measures in place at these institutions and the potential for further exploitation. CrowdStrike assessed that the attackers are likely motivated by financial gain and are Chinese speakers, but have not linked them to any known hacking group. 2 sources 70

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Police warn South Korea with mass texts after financial

The full story

Extracted Entities

Attack Types (3)

Companies (7)

Countries (1)

Industries (1)

MITRE ATT&CK (1)