Phishing scams have become commonplace and have intruded into our everyday lives in ways beyond our imagination. Commoners, as well as A-listers across the globe, have fallen prey to phishing scams.
The commotion against threat actors and scamsters has been increasing for some time now. From cybersecurity experts to laymen, more and more people are coming together to spread awareness against phishing activities.
In one such instance, Korean celebrities have come together to urge Meta and YouTube to prevent these menacing scams. These Korean TV celebrities have formed a group named Group for Resolving Online Phishing Crimes.
Seoul Waging a War Against Threat Actors!
On 22nd March, Friday, this coalition of Korean A-listers held a press conference where they discussed the gravity of phishing crimes. The ultimate motive behind organizing the press conference was to request the government, as well as social media biggies like YouTube and Meta, to take things into their own hands.
They shed light on how effortlessly threat actors have created a ruckus by impersonating popular Korean celebs recently. According to this group, the threat actors purposely target famous and influential Korean celebs and impersonate them to extract money from people under the pretext of investments.
They have openly criticized the incapacity and negligence of social media giants like Meta, YouTube, and Kakaotalk in controlling these phishing scams. The group has been demanding stringent actions and fail-proof strategies to keep threat actors at bay.
The Ground Reality
The Group for Resolving Online Phishing Crimes backed its claims up with police data. It mentioned that between September and December 2023, 1000+ financial fraud scam cases were registered. These phishing scams led to a financial loss of a whopping USD 89.7 million.
Besides financial damages, the impersonation scams also impact the reputation and mental peace of the affected celebs and influential figures.
That’s exactly why the group is demanding swift and strict action against the phishing actors. They are requesting the social media giants and relevant authorities to come up with effective preventive measures.
Impersonation Scams Plaguing Korean Stars!
BTS, the popular K-pop band, is taking the world by storm with its music, moves, and looks. However, it has also become the target of scammers. Over the last year, BTS has faced numerous impersonation scams, and that’s when it decided to make its fans aware of the ongoing mess.
In August 2023, BigHit Music, their agency, issued a loud and clear statement with the sole purpose of warning their fans against fraudulent scams. They urged people not to believe in any communication which is not directly coming through the official channels.
Image sourced from pinterest.com
In another similar incident, a Youngsville-based lady ended up with an empty bank account and a broken heart. Just like any other woman, she was in search of Mr. Right and ended up looking for love in the wrong place.
One fine day, she connected with someone who she thought to be the OG Ahn Hyo-Seop, the popular K-drama actor. Soon, she started falling for him, and Ahn, too, showed interest in a meet-up. She received an email from his so-called business manager stating that she would have to pay $18,500 to meet the sensational pop star.
Even though she got a confirmation mail, the ordeal did not stop there. They asked for $39,500 more as an expense for Ahn’s jet and five security bodyguards.
Blinded by love, she ignored all the red flags and spent over $67,000 in total to meet Ahn. Not only she emptied her retirement fund but also took loans from two different banks. The audacious scammer asked for more money on the day of the meet-up and finally the lady saw the red flag and refused to pay further. That’s when the scammer put an end to their virtual relationship and left her broke, both financially and emotionally.
In February 2024, another impersonation scam came to daylight when a 57-year-old lady complained about a scammer who duped her $16000 by impersonating none other than the K-pop superstar Eun-Woo.
The naive lady from Northampton County thought that she was actually interacting with the OG Eun Woo and thus she sent her Bitcoins worth $16k. She also shared her bank details and identity-related data.
Google And Meta Assured to Take Apt Actions!
Google, through a spokesperson, has assured that cyber safety is one of its biggest priorities, and it has policies in place to curb phishing menaces. He further said that they are quite proactive when it comes to violating ads and offending claims.
Meta, too, has guaranteed a sureshot strategy on Instagram and Facebook to safeguard users against phishing activities.
The fact that even the most high-profile figures across the world are not safe against scammers is indeed a cause of concern for laymen as well!
It underscores the importance of robust phishing protection measures and phishing awareness training for individuals and organizations alike, including staying vigilant against suspicious emails and employing multi-factor authentication.