Financial Fears Surge Amid Rampant Smishing: Coupang Investigates
Anxiety grows among consumers as smishing incidents surge following a large-scale data breach at Coupang. Is your card at risk?
The Rising Threat of Smishing
In recent months, financial consumers have been plagued by a wave of smishing scams following a large-scale data breach at Coupang. The situation has left many worried about their financial security, as reported by the National Police Agency’s telecommunications financial fraud response team.
Understanding the Smishing Scam
Smishing scams leverage anxiety, with perpetrators notifying individuals of unauthorized credit card issuances linked to the Coupang incident. The scammers cunningly direct victims to call fake customer service numbers, leading them to install remote control apps under the guise of checking for malicious infections. This step compromises victims’ mobile devices, handing control over to the scammers.
Security Advisory: What You Need to Know
The National Police Agency has issued warnings: avoid clicking on messages or URLs from unknown sources and delete such communications immediately. They emphasized that legitimate financial or governmental bodies would never request app installations via calls or texts.
Coupang’s Position: Limiting the Damage
Despite consumer concerns, Coupang reassures that their investigation showed no leak of payment information. The compromised data includes customer names, emails, phone numbers, and addresses—but not credit card numbers. Nonetheless, public anxiety lingers, fueled by unverified reports of abnormal logins and payment approvals overseas.
Experts Weigh In: Take Precautionary Measures
Experts advise halting the use of cards registered on Coupang as a preventative measure until investigations conclude. Past cases, such as SK Telecom and KT, have shown more extensive data leaks than initially revealed. “It’s wise to assume the worst,” suggested Korea University’s Professor Kim Seung-joo during a governmental question-and-answer session.
Preparing for the Worst-Case Scenario
Consumers are recommended to delete registered cards and change their login passwords as a precaution. As per Professor Kim Myung-joo from Seoul Women’s University, preventive action is vital given the pending results of joint investigations.
In conclusion, while Coupang maintains a reassuring stance, continued vigilance and adherence to expert advice remain crucial. Protecting yourself from potential financial fraud is paramount until the full scope of this breach is known. Keep an ear to the ground as the public-private cooperative investigation uncovers more insights. According to 매일경제, prioritizing security in times of uncertainty is always key.
