Korean Singer Jang Yoon-jung Reveals Her Mother Fell Victim to Voice Phishing Scam

Korean singer Jang Yoon-jung has revealed that her mother was a victim of a voice phishing scam.

On the October 4th episode of KBS 1TV's 'Hwang Shin-hye's Living Together,' South Korea's first profiler, Kwon Il-yong, appeared as the first male guest.

During the show, Hwang Shin-hye explained her reason for inviting Kwon Il-yong, saying, "As a mother with a daughter, I always contact her when she's out. When my daughter asks, 'Mom, don't you trust me?' I tell her it's not about trust, but about the scary world we live in." She expressed her desire to discuss crime prevention.

Jang Yoon-jung then shared that her mother recently fell victim to a voice phishing scam, saying, "All the money in my mom's bank account was stolen. She was in shock."

Jang continued, "When others fall victim, we often think, 'How could they fall for that?' But when it happened to my mom, I told her not to keep it to herself and to share her experience with others. It turns out many people have been scammed too."

She explained that the scam involved a tactic where the scammer claimed her phone was broken. "My brother's phone had actually broken before, so when my mom heard 'Your phone is broken,' she believed it," Jang said, explaining how the scam began.

"My mom thought my brother was contacting her from someone else's phone because his was broken," she added. When Kwon Il-yong asked about the reporting process, Jang explained, "My mom's personal information was compromised. She didn't realize it until she felt something was off during a meal. After the crime, her phone suddenly stopped working. She used the 'emergency contact' feature to report it to the police."

Kwon Il-yong advised, "If something happens, you should utilize the police," and added, "Last year, the amount lost to voice phishing scams exceeded 1 trillion won. Many people lose everything, and some even make extreme choices due to the shock."

Reporter Na-yeon Jo, Ten Asia nybluebook@tenasia.co.kr