South Korea said on Sunday it will strengthen its surveillance system against phishing websites related to cryptocurrency by working with the National Police Department, while virtual money prices have risen sharply recently.
The Department of ICT announced that there have recently been increasing reports of phishing attempts via text messages, in which cryptocurrency users enter their exchange IDs and passwords on fake websites in order to steal them and access their accounts.
The ministry said it found and blocked 32 such phishing websites in the past three months, compared to a total of 41 websites discovered in all of last year, the Yonhap News Agency reports.
Examples of such websites are www.bithnub.com versus the address of the local cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb – www.bithumb.com.
The ministry said it would strengthen its 24-hour surveillance system to quickly block such phishing websites.
The National Police Department has also been cracking down on phishing websites since the beginning of March this year.
By May 4, police were investigating 21 cases where individuals had accessed the accounts of other cryptocurrency users and sold their assets.
The largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, topped $ 72,000 per unit for the first time in South Korea in mid-April. The virtual currency has since fallen, trading at around 67 million won on Friday, according to Bithumb.
In view of rising prices, the South Korean financial authorities will also take action against illegal activities with cryptocurrencies such as money laundering until June.
(With contributions from agencies)
