Average Voice Phishing Loss Per Incident Reaches 53.84 Million Won, More Than Doubling in Four Years

[Financial News] The average loss per voice phishing incident has more than doubled in four years. Although the total number of incidents last year fell from 2021, losses rose sharply, increasing the financial damage caused by each successful scam.
According to data submitted by the Korean National Police Agency to Lim Ho-sun, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea and a member of the National Assembly's Security and Public Administration Committee, voice phishing accounted for 23,360 incidents last year, with losses totaling 1.2578 trillion won. Compared with 20,839 incidents and 854.5 billion won in losses in 2024, the number of incidents rose 12.1% and losses increased 47.2%.
The average loss per incident also increased sharply. Last year, the average voice phishing loss was approximately 53.84 million won, up 31.3% from approximately 41 million won in 2024. Compared with approximately 25 million won in 2021, the figure was about 2.2 times higher. During the same period, the number of incidents fell 24.6%, from 30,982 to 23,360, while total losses jumped 62.4%, from 774.4 billion won to 1.2578 trillion won.
By type of crime, scams impersonating public institutions and other organizations stood out. Losses from institution-impersonation scams increased approximately 5.7-fold, from 174.1 billion won in 2021 to 988.4 billion won last year. Their share of total voice phishing losses also rose from 22.5% to 78.6% over the same period.
Compared with the previous year, losses from institution-impersonation scams increased 84.8%, from 534.9 billion won in 2024 to 988.4 billion won last year. By contrast, losses from loan-related scams fell 15.7% over the same period, from 319.6 billion won to 269.4 billion won.
The increase in losses among older people was also notable. The number of voice phishing cases involving people aged 60 and older rose 37.5%, from 5,303 in 2024 to 7,294 last year, outpacing the 12.1% increase in total incidents. The share of people aged 60 and older among all victims also climbed from 25.4% to 31.2%.
In particular, cases involving people aged 70 and older rose 42.6%, from 1,047 in 2024 to 1,493 last year, the highest increase among the age groups listed in the data. Cases involving people in their 60s also increased 36.3% over the same period, from 4,256 to 5,801.
Lim Ho-sun said, "Voice phishing scams impersonating public institutions are serious crimes that deprive people of their property and undermine public trust in public institutions. They could lead to a situation in which people can no longer trust even legitimate guidance from public institutions."
He added, "Investigations into and prevention of institution-impersonation crimes must be strengthened so that criminals cannot exploit trust in public institutions as a tool for crime. The police and relevant agencies should review their response systems so that people can easily verify whether a communication is an impersonation and receive help promptly."
[email protected] Kim Ye-ji Reporter