'Me, a financial fraudster?' Young job seekers unknowingly drawn into voice phishing schemes

Financial authorities are warning young job seekers and foreign residents in South Korea after a growing number of cases emerged in which people were unknowingly drawn into financial fraud through employment scams or the sale of bank accounts.

The Financial Supervisory Service said Monday that voice phishing organizations have been posing as ordinary part-time employers — such as office assistants — to recruit young job seekers, then using them to collect and relay stolen funds or persuading them to hand over their bank accounts in exchange for payment.

Foreign residents in South Korea are also at risk. The FSS said cases have been confirmed in which foreign nationals became entangled in financial crimes such as money laundering after participating in bank account sales or informal foreign currency transactions between individuals. The agency particularly warned that transferring or lending access tools — such as bank accounts or debit cards — to another person can be punishable under the Electronic Financial Transactions Act.

In response, the FSS said it would strengthen tailored prevention efforts targeting young job seekers and foreign residents to reduce both victimization and unwitting criminal involvement.

The agency is partnering with job platform Jobkorea to run an employment fraud prevention quiz event from Monday through Nov. 8. The campaign aims to raise awareness of common financial fraud tactics, including schemes in which job offers are used as bait to request access to personal bank accounts or to solicit account transfers.

Outreach will also be expanded at universities and employment support facilities frequented by young people. Posters and leaflets will be distributed to 124 bank branches on university campuses and 122 job support centers nationwide, covering key voice phishing methods — such as collecting and relaying criminal proceeds and transferring bank accounts — along with guidance on how to respond.

For foreign residents, English-language materials will be placed at 49 locations, including bank branches that specialize in serving foreign nationals. The FSS plans to produce guides covering major financial fraud types — including bank account sales — in multiple languages and distribute them through banking apps and other channels.

The FSS also plans to produce card-format news content on major fraud tactics and prevention tips for distribution through financial companies' social media channels, and said it would continue expanding prevention activities tailored to each target group.

Meanwhile, suspicious voice phishing transactions at banks have been rising sharply. The number of transactions flagged by the five major banks' fraud detection systems and subsequently confirmed as actual fraud reached 8,760 cases last year, up 101.7 percent from the previous year, with another 4,059 cases confirmed in the first half of this year.