50S MOST LIKELY TO FALL VICTIM TO VOICE PHISHING

[Anchor Lead]

Despite the government's measures to eradicate the crime, voice phishing seems to remain rampant with many falling victim of the crime. An analysis of big data conducted by the Financial Supervisory Service on some 130,000 victims of voice phishing shows those in their 50s were mostly likely to fall victim to phone scams.

[Pkg]

​Ten days ago this self-employed man in his 50s received a call from a person claiming to be a savings bank employee. The caller offered a low-interest loan, and the man applied for it.

[Soundbite] (VOICE PHISHING VICTIM(VOICE MODIFIED) : "Other banks usually have interest rates of around 15-20 percent. But the people who called me offered a single-digit interest rate."

Shortly after receiving a confirmation message, another savings bank contacted him. The caller said he must pay the 10-million-won loan he had received from another savings bank if he wanted to receive a loan. The man handed over the money to a person who visited his store only to find out later it was a scam.

[Soundbite] (VOICE PHISHING VICTIM(VOICE MODIFIED) : "I spoke to more than ten people. Each of them had a different voice. It made me suspicious, but I was also curious if they really offer what they promised."

An analysis conducted by the Financial Supervisory Service shows people in their 50s are most likely to fall victim to such scams. Every third voice phishing victim surveyed by the financial authorities over the past three years was in his or her 50s. They were followed by those in their 40s and 60s.

[Soundbite] SHIN SANG-JOO(FINANCIAL SUPERVISORY SERVICE) : "People in their 50s are normally in dire need of financial support — to pay off their loans, to cover business expenses and for their children's wedding. They need money more urgently than other age groups."

Seven out of ten phone scams involved fraudulent loans. People with low credit ratings were found to be particularly vulnerable to loan-related fraud.