South Korea Scams 2025: The Voice Phishing Pandemic – When Your Phone Becomes the Enemy

Executive Summary

South Korea is experiencing what experts are calling a "scam pandemic"—an explosive surge in voice phishing (voice fraud) and cryptocurrency scams that has left 26% of adults victimized in just the past year, with losses totaling $1.4 billion USD. In the first quarter of 2025 alone, voice phishing cases jumped 17% with damages more than doubling to reach ₩311.6 billion ($216.5 million). The average scam victim now faces 55 scam attempts per year, and in a disturbing evolution, cryptocurrency voice phishing cases skyrocketed by 660% in the first seven months of 2025. This crisis is fueled by AI technology, North Korean state-sponsored hackers, and organized crime networks that have turned fraud into an industrial-scale operation, prompting urgent calls for centralized governance and international cooperation.

The Crisis by the Numbers

2025: A Year of Unprecedented Fraud

Q1 2025 Voice Phishing Explosion:

• Total Cases: 5,878 (up 17% from Q1 2024)
• Total Losses: ₩311.6 billion ($216.5 million)
• Increase in Losses: 220% compared to previous year
• Average Loss Per Case: ₩53 million ($37,000) – a sharp increase

Annual Scam Landscape (12-month period ending 2025):

• Total Scam Losses: $1.4 billion USD
• Adult Victims: 26% of population
• Average Scam Attempts Per Person: 55 annually
• Shopping Scams: 55% of victims lost money to this type

The Crypto Phishing Tsunami:

• First 7 Months of 2025: 420 crypto voice phishing cases
• Same Period 2024: 64 cases
• Increase: 6.6-fold surge (560% increase)
• Major Case: One fugitive defrauded 1,300 people of ₩17.7 billion ($13.2 million) between 2018-2019

Historical Context (2018-2022):

• Total Cases: 227,126 scams reported
• Total Losses: ₩1.66 trillion ($1.3 billion) over 5 years
• Loan-Related Scams: Over 60% of cases, accounting for nearly ₩1 trillion in damages

Voice Phishing: The National Threat

What is Voice Phishing?

In South Korea, "voice phishing" (보이스피싱) refers to fraud schemes where criminals use phone calls to deceive victims into transferring money or revealing sensitive information. Unlike Western "phishing" (which is primarily email-based), Korean voice phishing is conducted primarily through telephone calls and text messages.

The Evolution of Tactics

2025: The AI-Enhanced Era

Voice phishing has undergone a dramatic technological transformation:

AI Voice Cloning:

• Scammers use artificial intelligence to replicate voices of family members, police officers, or bank officials
• Just a few seconds of audio (from social media videos, voicemails) enables realistic voice synthesis
• Victims can't distinguish cloned voices from real people
• Creates highly convincing family emergency scenarios

Deepfake Video Integration:

• Video calls featuring AI-generated faces of authorities
• Fake police stations and government offices as backgrounds
• Real-time deepfake technology making impersonation seamless
• Victims shown fabricated "official documents" on screen

Social Engineering at Scale:

• Automated calling systems dial thousands daily
• AI analyzes victim responses to optimize manipulation tactics
• Psychological profiling determines which scam type to deploy
• Machine learning improves success rates over time

The Major Scam Types

1. Government Impersonation – 51% of All Cases

The "You're Under Investigation" Scam:

This is the dominant fraud type in 2025, accounting for more than half of all voice phishing cases.

How It Works:

Phase 1 - The Call:

• Caller claims to be from prosecutor's office, police, or Financial Supervisory Service
• States victim is "under investigation" for financial crimes
• Claims victim's identity was stolen and used for illegal transactions
• Induces panic and fear of arrest

Phase 2 - The "Solution":

• Offers to "protect" victim's assets during investigation
• Demands transfer of funds to "safe government account"
• Requires victim to purchase cryptocurrency for "secure tracking"
• Claims only way to avoid arrest is immediate compliance

Phase 3 - The Extraction:

• Victim transfers money or cryptocurrency
• Scammer may request remote access to victim's devices
• Additional calls demanding more funds to "complete verification"
• Threats escalate if victim hesitates

Real Example: A victim lost $91 million in a social engineering scam involving impersonation of a crypto exchange and wallet support firm, showcasing the scale of damage possible.

2. Cryptocurrency Voice Phishing – The Fastest Growing Threat

The 660% Surge:

Crypto voice phishing has exploded in 2025, with 420 cases in the first seven months—compared to just 64 in the same period of 2024.

Common Crypto Scam Tactics:

Fake Account Warnings:

• Call claiming victim's crypto exchange account has been compromised
• Demand immediate transfer to "secure wallet"
• Provide QR codes or wallet addresses controlled by scammers
• Urgency: "Transfer now or lose everything"

Fraudulent Investment Schemes:

• Promises of high returns through "exclusive" crypto opportunities
• Fake mining operations or ICO participation
• Celebrity endorsements (often AI-generated)
• Social media promotion with fabricated success stories

Platform Impersonation:

• Scammers pose as customer support from major exchanges (Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone)
• Request private keys or seed phrases for "verification"
• Fake security updates requiring credential entry
• Account "maintenance" requiring fund transfers

Government Warning Integration:

• Claims of regulatory compliance checks
• Threats of account freezes for "suspicious activity"
• Demands for immediate KYC verification with fund transfers
• Fake tax or licensing fees in cryptocurrency

3. Loan Availment Scams – The Long-Standing Threat

Despite the crypto surge, traditional loan scams remain devastatingly effective:

The Setup:

• Victim targeted through SMS, messaging apps, or calls
• Offers of low-interest loans or guaranteed approval
• Especially targets those with poor credit or urgent needs

The Trap:

• Requires "processing fees" or "insurance deposits" upfront
• Demands personal information and bank account access
• Continues extracting payments with various excuses
• No loan ever materializes

The Scale:

• Over 60% of all phishing damage (2018-2022) related to loan scams
• Nearly ₩1 trillion ($770 million) lost to this type alone
• Preys on economically vulnerable populations