A smartphone retailer in Seoul’s Yongsan District, Feb. 20, 2023 / Yonhap
Korea will make it obligatory for folks to bear facial recognition when opening a brand new cell phone quantity, as a part of efforts to root out illegally registered handsets used for scams, the science ministry mentioned Friday.
Below the plan, Korea would require the nation’s three cell carriers, SK Telecom Co., KT Corp. and LG Uplus Inc., together with cell digital community operators, to hold out the extra verification step to forestall the activation of recent numbers by identification theft.
The announcement got here after Korea unveiled a set of complete measures to struggle voice phishing scams in August, together with more durable punishment for cell carriers that fail to hold out adequate preventive efforts.
“By evaluating the photograph on an identification card with the holder’s precise face on a real-time foundation, we are able to totally stop the activation of telephones registered below a false identify utilizing stolen or fabricated IDs,” the ministry mentioned in a launch.
The ministry famous scammers will face extra hurdles in activating new telephones utilizing data obtained from hacking assaults.
The brand new coverage can be formally carried out in March 2026, with a trial run set to start subsequent week.
The variety of voice phishing scams reported got here to 21,588 as of November this yr, with the mixed quantity of harm reaching 1.13 trillion gained ($760 million), surpassing the 1 trillion-won mark for the primary time, the ministry added, citing a report from the police company.
