Voice Phishing Scam Targets Upscale Seoul Districts

Four out of 10 voice phishing scams in Seoul last year took place in the upscale districts of Gangnam, Seocho and Songpa, statistics show. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Police on Monday, 487 cases were reported in the three districts last year with an estimated damage of W5.1 billion (US$1=W1,082).

The number accounted for 38 percent of 1,918 cases for all 25 Seoul districts. The total damage was estimated at W19.4 billion. Gangnam topped the list with 283 cases and damage of W3.2 billion.

Scammers increasingly tend to target high-income earners once they obtain their personal information instead of making calls to random targets, police speculated.

A police officer said, "They appear to use information like home addresses they've obtained from private tutoring institutes, superstores or public agencies to find targets in rich districts."

Yeongdeungpo was second with 139 cases and damage of W1.33 billion, followed by Geumcheon with 108 cases and damage of W1.1 billion. The two districts are home to many Chinese and Korean Chinese.

Districts north of the Han River, which have fewer companies and large restaurants than in Gangnam, reported damage of some W60-600 million per district police station.

The number of voice phishing cases in Seoul dwindled from 2,282 cases (W25.7 billion) in 2008 to 1,565 cases (W16.5 billion) in 2009 but rose last year again, And already this year some 700 cases with total damage of W7.1 billion were lodged from January to March, a rising trend.