Nearly 90,000 subscribed to anti-financial fraud service: FSC

By Lee Kyung-min

Nearly 90,000 people have signed up for a government-operated service that restricts unauthorized financial transactions, including credit card issuance, unsecured cards and insurance loans, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) said Sunday.

According to the financial regulator, the service drew in 89,817 subscribers in less than a month after the launch on Aug. 23.

The policy objective is to prevent unauthorized borrowing from financial institutions that led to the wiring of large sums of money. Subscribers must visit branches of financial services providers to request the service in person.

The real-time service is embraced by a total of 4,012 financial service providers spanning banks, financial investment firms, insurers, credit service providers, savings banks and mutual agriculture, fisheries and forestry industry cooperatives, as well as Korea Post.

Those aged 60 and older have topped the list of subscribers, accounting for 62 percent of the total.

About two-thirds of service subscription is made from banks, followed by mutual cooperatives (25 percent).

Starting Monday, the country’s three internet-only banks — KakaoBank, Toss Bank, and K Bank — will make the service available online. The FSC encourages a greater number of the public to subscribe to the service to help prevent financial fraud.

“We will strengthen campaigning efforts for more financial consumers to join the effort to fight against organized crimes, including voice phishing.”

Data from the National Police Agency showed a total of 11,734 cases of voice phishing caused 390.9 billion won worth of damage ($298 million) from January to July.