South Korea’s top financial regulators issued a consumer warning on Friday, cautioning that a recent data breach at e-commerce giant Coupang could fuel a rise in voice-phishing, text-based scams, and other forms of financial fraud.
The Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said criminals may try to exploit leaked personal information by impersonating government agencies, banks, or other financial institutions. Scammers could also pose as officials offering “data-breach verification,” “loss assessments,” or “compensation processing” in an attempt to deceive victims into installing remote-control malware or malicious applications on their phones.
Regulators further warned that text messages promising refunds or compensation related to the Coupang incident may be used to induce consumers to enter banking credentials or other sensitive information.
“Government agencies and financial institutions never request app installations via phone calls or text messages,” the FSC and FSS said in a joint statement. “If you receive a message from an unknown sender containing a URL, do not click it. Delete it immediately.”
Authorities added that installing malicious apps can expose a wide range of sensitive information stored on smartphones, and urged consumers not to keep resident registration numbers, bank passwords, ID copies, or other high-risk personal data on their devices.
They also encouraged users to activate South Korea’s “three-stage financial safety protection system,” which provides layered safeguards for credit transactions, remote account openings, and open-banking services, helping reduce the risk of identity theft and unauthorized financial activity.
