Women in their 20s and 30s fall victim to consumer scams called ‘voice phishing’ more than any other age group in South Korea, contrary to common belief that senior citizens make easy prey.

According to data released by the Korean National Police Agency on Wednesday, there were 16,338 fraud-related complaints reported from January to June this year with financial damage amounting to 179.6 billion won ($158.5 million). Women in their 20s and 30s are more prone to government imposter scams in which callers posing as law enforcement agency workers ask victims to transfer money to a safer account.

The data found that 2,653 complaints were reported by women, almost quintupling 526 male victims. Young women in their 20s and 30s accounted for 78 percent of the total female victims. There were 443 complaints reported by those in their 60s or more with 201 female victims.

Police believe that women are easier prey for scammers as they tend to blindly trust government agencies and are more prone to anxiety.

Police say that women who are preparing for a wedding have been targeted by the criminals as they tend to have a lump sum of money for their wedding preparation. They also warn that people should not fall for scammers pretending to be bank employees to ask for signing up a loan product or downloading a mobile application.

By Park Dae-ui and Choi Mira

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]