In a significant move to combat voice phishing scams, South Korea's financial regulatory bodies have mandated that all domestic cryptocurrency exchanges implement a unified, stringent system for handling withdrawal delays. This initiative aims to counter the rising incidence of scams that exploit the speed of transactions.
The Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service have announced these new rules, effectively eliminating the discretion previously held by exchanges to allow users to bypass waiting periods, as reported by local news sources. Historically, platforms established their own criteria for exceptions to maintain swift trading, but fraudsters adapted to these rules, instructing victims on how to circumvent them. Voice phishing scams typically deceive victims into converting money into cryptocurrency and transferring it within a short time frame.
Even brief delays can disrupt these scams by providing victims with time to reconsider or allowing alerts to be raised before funds are withdrawn. Under the new framework, exchanges are required to apply uniform criteria when assessing withdrawal exceptions, including account history, transaction patterns, and abrupt behavioral changes.
Officials anticipate that less than 1% of users will be eligible for immediate withdrawals. Furthermore, platforms are obligated to enhance identity verification processes and closely monitor fund movements. This development signifies a transition from industry-driven safeguards to a standardized national approach. In contrast, other markets, such as the U.S.
and Europe, commonly employ withdrawal holds, but these are set by individual companies. Some exchanges even permit users to set personal timelocks to prevent unauthorized withdrawals. The South Korean regulatory bodies did not immediately respond to requests for additional commentary.