Counterfeit cryptocurrency site crimes surged in 32 cases in the last 3 months (in Korea)

The National Police Agency announced on the 9th that it is jointly responding to cyber crimes caused by electronic financial fraud sites (fake sites) related to virtual assets such as cryptocurrency with the Ministry of Science and ICT.

Recently, cyber crimes that trick victims by crafting an Internet address (URL) similar to a normal site and force them to enter their account ID and password and one-time password generator (OTP) authentication number into the fake site are increasing.

Cyber ​​infringements caused by fake sites related to virtual assets were found to have increased from the previous year to 32 cases in the last three months.

Considering that the total number of infringements last year was 41, fake sites are expected to rise further.

The Ministry of Science and ICT plans to reinforce the 24-hour monitoring system through the relevant response center of the Korea Internet & Security Agency, and to block and take measures against fake sites in cooperation with related organizations.

In addition, cyber infringement crimes related to virtual assets include messenger use scams (messenger phishing) and text payment scams (smissing).

Messenger phishing is a crime that attempts to steal account information related to virtual assets such as personal information and financial information of the victim by sending a message such as KakaoTalk impersonating a family member or acquaintance.

Smithing is a crime that induces access to a fake site by sending a text message on a mobile phone stating that an abnormal login has occurred and then clicking the Internet address (URL) included in the message.

Since March 1, the police have mobilized experts from the cyber crime investigation team of the national provincial police agency and the cyber team of the police station to specially crack down on crimes related to virtual assets.

As of the 4th, it is investigating 21 cases of information and communication network infringement, including the incident of invading an individual's exchange account and selling virtual assets at random.

In addition, the password of the virtual asset exchange must be changed periodically, and the security settings of the mobile phone must be strengthened to prevent unauthorized installation of applications (apps) of unknown sources.

An official from the National Police Agency said, "If you suspect a malicious app infection, etc., you can get a reward for free 24 hours if you report it to 118 Cyber ​​Helper operated by the Korea Internet & Security Agency."