In a bid to combat the rising tide of voice phishing scams, South Korea's financial regulatory bodies have introduced a unified system for delaying withdrawals across all domestic cryptocurrency exchanges. This move aims to counter scams that rely on swift transactions by introducing a consistent, strict framework for holding periods. Previously, exchanges had the discretion to set their own rules for exceptions, which fraudsters could exploit by coaching victims on how to bypass these safeguards. The new rules, announced by the Financial Services Commission and Financial Supervisory Service, mandate that exchanges apply uniform criteria when evaluating withdrawal exceptions, including factors such as account history, transaction patterns, and sudden behavioral changes.
This approach is expected to limit instant withdrawals to less than 1% of users, with the added measures of stricter identity verification and closer monitoring of fund flows. Unlike other markets where withdrawal holds are set by individual firms, South Korea's move towards a national standard marks a significant shift towards regulatory-led oversight.
This change is designed to interrupt phishing scams by introducing delays that give victims time to reconsider or allow for alerts to be raised before funds are transferred out of an account.