Seoul: KT Corp. announced that the number of victims in a recent mobile payment breach has increased to 362, with total damages amounting to 240 million won (US$173,000). The South Korean mobile carrier had initially reported 278 victims following a suspected data leak resulting in unauthorized mobile payments.

According to Yonhap News Agency, KT Corp. revealed in a press conference that they have corrected bills for 278 of the affected customers and will soon finalize refunds for the remaining 84 victims. The company reached these figures after reviewing all mobile payments made via their automated response system since June.

KT Corp. confirmed that no further damages have been reported since they blocked suspicious mobile payment attempts on September 5. Koo Jae-hyung, head of KT Corp.'s network technology division, stated there is no evidence that essential data such as names and birth dates were leaked. Additionally, information like the universal subscriber identity module (USIM) certification number remains secure, indicating no further threats from smartphone cloning.

Despite these assurances, about 20,000 customers were affected by signals from unauthorized cellular base stations, which could potentially leak their International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers, and phone numbers.

Authorities have detained two Chinese nationals, aged 48 and 44, suspected of involvement in the breach. The elder suspect allegedly hacked phones to execute unauthorized mobile payments using an illegal micro base station linked to KT's network, while the other suspect is accused of cashing the unauthorized payments.