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By Jun Ji-hye
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) has warned against an increase in financial scams in which swindlers send text messages containing web links to fake COVID-19 vaccination certificates, with the intention to acquire passwords and other personal information of victims.
Bae Gyung-taek, a senior KDCA official, said during a media briefing, Monday, that the agency has recently received an increasing number of reports about "smishing" ― a portmanteau of short message service (SMS) and phishing ― related to vaccinations, as the country's vaccination program has been gaining speed.
More than 25.9 million people, or 50.5 percent of the entire population here, have received at least their first vaccine shot as of Sunday, according to the KDCA.
"We never ask people to offer their personal information, except for when they book their vaccination schedules via reservation programs," Bae said. "To receive digital vaccination certificates, people should download a relevant mobile application available on devices running Google's Android and Apple's iOS. The KDCA does not send web links for that."
Bae noted that any text messages from the KDCA are sent by 1339 or its office numbers, and never sent by mobile phone numbers beginning with 010.
The KDCA will cooperate with the Korea Internet & Security Agency and National Police Agency to actively respond to criminal practices using text messages, he added.
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