As the second round of livelihood recovery coupons is set to be issued this month, users are urged to be cautious of phishing texts that impersonate related information to lure them into illegal gambling sites. On the 4th, the Korea Communications Commission issued a warning about malicious spam that misleads people into clicking on internet addresses, which in turn lead to illegal gambling sites under the pretense of distributing livelihood recovery coupons. The commission advises not to click on URLs included in text messages from unclear sources and to avoid answering such calls.
If users click on a URL in a text from an unverified sender, they might be directed to a fake site impersonating government offices. This can lead to programs and apps being installed on their devices that are designed to steal personal and financial information, potentially resulting in unauthorized transactions and remote control of their phones.
To combat illegal spam exploiting the second round of coupon distribution, the commission is collaborating with the three major telecommunications companies and Kakao to send cautionary messages. They have also asked communications providers and device manufacturers like Samsung to enhance intelligent spam filtering.
If you receive a message with an unclear source or containing a URL, you can use KakaoTalk’s ‘Protection Country’ channel to copy and paste the text to verify its legitimacy. Moreover, illegal spam, whether received through text or email, can be reported directly to the Korea Internet & Security Agency via an easy reporting app or phone reports. The commission and the agency will confirm the legality of reported spam and work with communication providers and manufacturers to block it immediately. Additionally, they will share this data with agencies like the National Police Agency and the Financial Services Commission to actively prevent the spread of scams like phishing and smishing texts.