Credit Card Information of 5,700 Consumers Compromised in Online Shopping Mall Phishing Attack

Example of a phishing page during card payment [Photo=Financial Security Agency]

Recent hacking and phishing attacks have led to the large-scale theft of credit card information, prompting financial authorities to issue a consumer alert.

On July 5, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) announced that it had received notification from the Financial Security Agency regarding the activities of a specialized hacking group targeting credit card information from certain online shopping malls in South Korea. The FSS is now collaborating with the Financial Security Agency and card companies to address the issue.

According to the Financial Security Agency, as of June 29, a total of 5,707 credit card information records have been compromised. The FSS is sharing the stolen card information with card companies to block fraudulent transactions. Card companies are also taking measures such as notifying affected customers, reissuing cards, and blocking suspicious transactions.

Authorities report that the hacking group employed a method of inserting phishing pages that closely resemble legitimate payment screens into the checkout process of vulnerable online shopping sites.

When consumers enter their card number, expiration date, CVC, full card password, and even their resident registration number on these pages, the information is sent to the attackers. Following this, a 'payment error' message is displayed, and the consumer is redirected back to the actual payment page to complete the transaction, making it difficult for them to realize they have fallen victim to phishing.

The FSS emphasized that legitimate card payment processes do not require the full resident registration number or the complete four-digit card password. Consumers should immediately stop entering information if such requests are made.

Additionally, if consumers suspect their card information has been compromised after online shopping, they should promptly request a card freeze and reissue from their card company and change their card password and PIN. It is particularly important to change the same password used on other sites, as this could prevent further damage from credential stuffing attacks that exploit leaked information.

An FSS official stated, "The likelihood that the stolen card information will be misused for fraudulent activities is very high, and we cannot rule out the possibility that information theft is still ongoing. Consumers should be cautious if excessive personal information is requested during online payment processes and carefully verify any alerts or calls from their card companies regarding suspicious transactions."

* This article has been translated by AI.