Phishing crimes that cleverly exploit the Middle East war are on the rise. From attracting investment leads to impersonation of high oil price damage subsidies, methods are also becoming more diverse. Three mobile telecommunication companies, SK Telecom, KT, and LG U+, have also responded by asking customers to pay attention.
Smishing type image related to high oil price damage subsidies. / Korea Communications Commission
According to related industries on Tuesday, phishing crimes based on the Middle East situation are rampant, which requires attention. Phishing is a method of stealing money by inducing users to access fake sites through e-mail or phone calls or by allowing them to enter information directly.
There are many types of phishing that are in vogue at the moment. The company lures investors to investment reading rooms, saying it guarantees high returns through investment in stocks that are subject to war. In line with the timing of application and payment of subsidies for high oil prices, there is also a method of impersonating the government or credit card companies to induce users to click on suspicious Internet addresses under the guise of payment targets and amount, approval of credit card use, and charging of subsidies for high oil prices.
There are also smishing (a method of stealing money by sending text messages to induce access to malicious app installation links) under the guise of canceling and rebooking flights, and raising funds for Middle Eastern refugees, and romance scams (love smirks) impersonating doctors or soldiers in conflict areas.
SK Telecom, KT, and LG Uplus recently joined forces with the Korea National Police Agency’s Integrated Telecommunications and Financial Fraud Response Team to alert customers to phishing crimes. They are also operating their own AI-based phishing number detection and blocking system.
The government, credit card companies, and local currency companies also informed the public on April 16 that they would not send any text messages and social media including “Internet Address Shortcuts (URLs)” related to high oil prices to prevent damage to text payment fraud (smishing).
In addition to phishing, the Iranian government has banned local roaming service providers due to the Middle East war. The Iranian government has blocked local telephone networks and the Internet. At one point, some other Middle Eastern countries, including Kuwait, were affected and were unable to use roaming service, but it is now available.
“Usually, when we sign a roaming contract, we go on a field trip and check the quality,” a telecommunications company official said. “I think we can resume roaming services only when we can travel.”
Another official said, “Although roaming services are currently not available only in Iran, there may be countries where additional services are not available because the situation in the Middle East is so unstable.”
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