• Online swindlers have recently begun sending emails with malicious programs attached, which pretend to notify the victim of withdrawals from his or her FX account. When the victim opens the attached file, the program installs itself on the victim’s computer to steal his or her personal information. In another case, they have posted ads that claim to offer loans regardless of one's credit status. If you contact them, they pretend to be legitimate bank employees and try to extract personal information from you such as your account numbers and passwords. Then they ask you to deposit cash in the account, saying that they need your banking transaction history to grant you a loan. Later, the scammers move your money to accounts under their control or simply withdraw it. Below are the most frequent scams that you should know about so that you can avoid becoming a victim of fraud.

What is Phishing

• The term “phishing,” which refers to a type of identity theft, was coined by combining “private data” with “fishing.” The swindler links an email message or online bulletin board to a phony financial website to induce victims to reveal their banking information.

Types of Fraud

• Recent cases

• Type 1) Send an SMS message or email (that claims to be a notification on stronger security service) containing a phony bank website address and steals personal information from whoever accesses the site. (phishing)
• Type 2) Send an email with a malicious program attached, which pretends to notify the victim of withdrawals from his or her FX account. When the victim opens the attached file, the program installs itself on the victim’s computer to steal his or her personal information. (pharming)
• Type 3) Infect the victim’s computer with malicious codes that will automatically redirect the victim from an authentic financial website to a phony one, and then steal his or her personal information. (pharming)

• A swindler sends an email with a malicious program attached, which pretends to notify the victim of withdrawals from his or her FX account. When the victim opens the attached file, the program installs itself on the victim’s computer to steal his or her personal information.
• Fraudulent Ads on Internet Portal Sites
• A swindler targets small business owners or individuals desperate for cash, posting ads that promise quick loans to anyone.
• Bank Clerk Impersonation
• A swindler asks unsuspecting people to sign up for Internet banking or telephone banking services, and tells them to maintain a certain balance in their account to ensure good credit.
• Swindlers discover the user’s ID, password, account PIN and security card number by:
  • using personal information gathered form the phishing site.
  • posing as a legitimate banking institution by suing an authentic call center phone number as a cover.
• A swindler requested the victim to deposit money into a certain account, then transferred the money into an account under a false ID and immediately withdrew it.
• A swindler pretending to be a prosecutor demanded that the victim reveal his resident registration number, account number and password, saying the account has been used in a fraud and is now under investigation.
• A swindler claiming to be from the Financial Supervisory Service told the victim his account is at risk of electronic fraud, asked the victim to meet at an ATM, and requested that he enter an account number and PIN and then withdraw cash.
• A swindler requested the victim’s name and resident registration number claiming that he or she was late on credit card bill (or loan) payments.
• A swindler lures the victim into sending money for a loan, and then disappears.
• A victim read a false newspaper ad and called a phony consulting company, which asked for KRW 300,000 as an advance fee for a loan. The victim sent the money, and the swindler immediately disappeared with it.
• A swindler takes out a loan using the victim’s installment savings as collateral.
• A victim read a false newspaper ad and then called a scammer, who requested that an installment savings account be opened at a certain bank. The victim deposited KRW 5 million in the account and gave the swindler the account number and Internet banking password. The swindler used the victim’s installment savings as collateral to take out a KRW 4.7 million loan; he then disappeared.
• A swindler withdraws money from the victim’s account via telephone banking.
• The victim had applied for a loan at many financial institutions. One day, he received a phone call from a phony institution, which asked him to open a bank account in order to establish a transaction history. The swindler asked for the account number and telephone banking password, withdrew KRW 2 million from the account and disappeared.
• A swindler lures the victim with restoration of bad credit
• The victim read a newspaper ad for a phony loan company and called the swindler, who claimed he could restore the victim’s bad credit and help him qualify for a bank loan. The swindler asked for a KRW 50,000 advance commission and then disappeared with the money.

Protect Yourself against Phishing

• Never reveal your name or resident registration number to a caller claiming to be from a public office.
• If you receive a call from a financial institution about a late credit card or loan payment, verify the caller’s ID and phone number before doing anything else.
• Certificates of deposit (CDs) are never used to make credit card payments or to pay taxes or health insurance premiums. Do not let a swindler convince otherwise.
• Call your bank to verify the contents of email messages you receive.
• Ensure the website that you linked onto from an email message is the official Citibank Korea website before you enter any important information.
• Contact Citibank Korea directly to see if you qualify for a loan; never send anyone advance fees for a loan.
• If you receive a phone call claiming you have won a lottery prize, call them back to verify it is true. Even if it is, do not reveal compromising personal information.
• Contact your bank or one of the institutions listed below if you receive a suspicious email or phone call requesting personal information and promising a loan that is too good to be true.

Protect Yourself against Pharming

• What is Pharming?
  Pharming refers to a type of e-banking fraud similar to voice phishing, in which a hacker first infects the victim’s computer with malicious codes that will automatically redirect the victim from an authentic financial website to a phony one, and then steals his or her personal information.

• How to Prevent
  You are recommended to register an anti-pharming image and install the TouchENSafe program on the Citibank website.
  • Internet Banking-> Manage My Banking Information-> Accident Prevention -> Register an Anti-Phishing Image
    • If you don’t see any image registered or a different image from the one you registered, it means that you’ve accessed a phony site.
    
• How to Respond
  • Report an accident. (Suspend your account immediately.)
  • Contact the Citibank Korea call center at 1588-7000
  • Contact Korea Information Security Agency at 118 (no area codes).

National Police Agency	112 (no area codes)
Financial Supervisory Service	1332 (no area codes)

• 보안센터