Lotte Card partners with all three telecoms to fight voice phishing with AI

Lotte Card has become the first card issuer in South Korea to integrate an AI-based voice phishing detection solution — known as SURPASS — from all three major telecoms into its Fraud Detection System (FDS), the company announced Wednesday.

The solution was developed through a partnership between the three telecoms and Korea Credit Bureau (KCB). It uses telecom data and AI technology to help financial institutions such as Lotte Card detect signs of voice phishing quickly and prevent customer losses before they occur. KCB serves as the intermediary connecting the telecoms' systems with Lotte Card's.

The three telecoms use AI and a combination of data sources to predict and analyze voice phishing risks, feeding results into Lotte Card's FDS to flag potential threats to its customers. When a transaction is flagged as suspicious, Lotte Card takes preventive action, including blocking the transaction.

Lotte Card first piloted the solution with SK Telecom in July last year before formally adopting it in January. In February, it signed agreements with KT Corp and LG Uplus, completing a cooperative framework with all three telecoms. From July last year through May, the solution helped prevent 320 million won ($207,000) in voice phishing losses.

Meanwhile, Lotte Card said it blocked about 6 billion won in financial damage from voice phishing attempts targeting its customers last year through a range of other prevention tools, including detection of malicious app installations.

"We proactively partnered with all three telecoms to protect our customers from the threat of voice phishing," a Lotte Card official said. "We will continue to build systems that enable safer financial transactions for our customers."