KB Kookmin Bank leads major Korean banks in fraudulent account rates

Data from the Financial Supervisory Service reveals that KB Kookmin Bank had the highest rate of fraudulent accounts among eight major South Korean banks in the first half of the year. Specifically, for every 10,000 newly opened accounts, KB Kookmin Bank recorded 7.3 fraudulent or suspended accounts, a rate approximately 5.6 times higher than that of Shinhan Bank and Toss Bank.

KB Kookmin Bank attributed the increase to its partnership with the cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb, noting that criminal exploitation of virtual asset transactions has risen. In response, the bank has formed a financial fraud response consultative body with Bithumb to strengthen abnormal transaction detection.

Across the eight analyzed banks, the total number of fraudulent accounts in the first half of the year reached 59,291. While KakaoBank recorded the highest total volume of fraudulent accounts at 15,089, KB Kookmin Bank followed with 10,454.