Science minister urges mobile carriers to utilize AI in scam prevention

SEJONG, Aug. 8 (Yonhap) -- Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon on Friday called on the country's three leading mobile carriers to utilize artificial intelligence (AI) technology to protect their customers from digital scams.

Bae met with representatives from SK Telecom Co., KT Corp. and LG Uplus Corp. amid the public's growing concerns over such crimes despite the government's preventive efforts, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT.

"If the government and businesses join forces by harnessing AI technologies as a strong shield against digital crimes, we can root out voice phishing scams," Bae said during the meeting, according to the ministry.

Bae also called for mobile carriers to continue advancing their prevention systems and step up efforts to raise public awareness of such measures.

South Korea has been increasing efforts to prevent digital crimes since last year, including strengthening identity verification procedures when activating a mobile phone and notifying users when a text is sent from overseas.

The science ministry said the number of voice phishing scams reported came to 12,000 cases in the first half of 2025, up 23 percent from a year earlier.

The combined financial damage caused by such crimes reached 640 billion won (US$461 million), nearly double from the previous year.

The estimated financial damage hit a record 854.5 billion won in 2024.

"Voice phishing is a crime that not only causes financial damage but also destroys individuals' everyday lives by causing emotional pain, and it needs to be addressed without delay," Bae said.

During the meeting, SK Telecom said the company is automatically blocking numbers involved in scams in cooperation with the police.

The country's top mobile carrier said it is also detecting scam text messages through its AI security system and warning users of suspicious incoming calls.

SK Telecom is preparing to launch a system to detect AI-generated voices, it added.

No. 2 player KT said it has launched a system to detect voice phishing attempts during the call by keeping track of conversation contexts and detecting deepfake voices.

KT is working to detect 95 percent of voice phishing attempts, which it said would help prevent financial damage worth 200 billion won (US$144.5 million) this year alone.

LG Uplus said it analyzes users' calls to alert them of suspicious activity and send notifications if malicious apps are installed.

colin@yna.co.kr
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