Seoul: The number of scam cases has sharply dropped, police said Tuesday, partly attributing the decline to their preventive measures.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) reported that the number of voice phishing cases between January and July amounted to 7,940, marking a 46 percent decrease from the same period last year. Financial losses from such crimes during this period totaled 361.4 billion won (US$261 million), reflecting a 53 percent reduction on a year-on-year basis.

The police credited the sharp declines in part to their preventive strategies. In a bid to combat phishing scams, the KNPA, in partnership with three major mobile service providers, employed artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze mobile phone numbers involved in these scams. They suspended the service of numbers exhibiting patterns similar to those used in crimes.

Additionally, the number of new scam cases is decreasing. In July, 2,275 cases, primarily involving fraudulent stock investments, were reported, indicating a 41 percent decline from the same month the previous year. Correspondingly, financial losses from these cases diminished by 40 percent year-on-year, totaling 62.1 billion won.

In a proactive effort, police dispatched emergency alerts to 127,026 individuals at risk of falling victim to such scams in July, a significant increase from the 767 alerts sent in February.

Hong Suk-ki, head of the National Office of Investigation, commented, "The fact damage (caused by scams) is declining means the preemptive measures that have been taken are delivering results."