Go to contents

All new smartphones to be armed with ‘smishing-blocking app’

All new smartphones to be armed with ‘smishing-blocking app’

Posted August. 14, 2014 02:46,   

한국어

Smartphones that will be sold from now on will be installed with application designed to block "smishing" that causes online fraud robbing small amount of phone-based mobile payment. Also, new service will be made available to enable the Korea Internet Security Agency to inform the user of text messages that are suspected as smishing schemes.

The government announced on Wednesday measures to implement as part of its comprehensive measures to prevent financial frauds in telecom, which call for these and other efforts.

Smishing refers to the combination of SMS and phishing, and a kind of fraud that causes the victim to make a small payment through the mobile phone-based financial settlement system or steals personal information, which occurs when a user inadvertently clicks a web address contained in a text message to trigger secretive installation of spyware or a malign code in his or her mobile phone. Mostly, smishing is disguised as a "free giveaway coupon," or "invitation to wedding ceremony or a baby’s first birthday party." The three major mobile carriers in Korea provide free applications that block smishing. Since mobile phone users have not been widely using such apps, however, the government has decided to require their installation in the new mobile handset as a basic app program before sale.

KISA will also start service to enable the user to confirm whether a message is smishing or not. By expanding the channels for collecting text messages, the government has also decided to improve the system to counter smishing.