if your personal information has been leaked, it may be safer not to stop at changing your password but to use the three Safety Block services for credit transactions, non-face-to-face account opening, and open banking together with the Personal Information Exposure Accident Prevention System, according to their different roles. Safety Blocks are designed to preemptively stop specific financial transactions, while personal information exposure registration shares the fact that your information has been exposed with financial institutions and restricts activities such as opening new accounts and issuing credit cards. If you have already transferred money or suffered an actual financial loss, you are no longer at the preventive-blocking stage and should immediately request a payment freeze.
Korean financial authorities said they have been operating a one-month special response period for secondary damage caused by personal information leaks since October 6, 2026, and that the period may be extended if necessary. If you have received a notification that your personal information was leaked or are concerned about unauthorized financial transactions in your name, check the following measures in order.
The Three Financial Transaction Safety Block Services
The Financial Transaction Safety Block system is divided into three separate services that block credit transactions, non-face-to-face account opening, and open banking. You should not assume that applying for one automatically blocks all of the other types of transactions.
Credit Transaction Safety Block has been in effect since August 23, 2024. It preemptively blocks new credit transactions in your name, including unsecured loans, card loans, installment financing, and loans secured by deposits or savings accounts. New credit card issuance is also a related blocking category, but following improvements to the system, applicants may be able to choose during the application process whether to block new card issuance. It is therefore advisable to check the actual application screen or guidance from your financial institution.
Non-Face-to-Face Account Opening Safety Block has been in effect since March 12, 2025. It prevents new demand deposit accounts from being opened remotely in your name without your consent. Once the blocking information is registered, new non-face-to-face demand deposit account openings across the Korean financial sector are blocked in real time.
Open Banking Safety Block has been in effect since November 14, 2025. It blocks open banking registration and activities conducted through open banking, including account information inquiries, withdrawals, and transfers.
In other words, if you are concerned about an unauthorized loan in your name, check the Credit Transaction Safety Block. If you are worried that an account could be opened without your knowledge, check the Non-Face-to-Face Account Opening Safety Block. If you are concerned that your account could be linked to another service through open banking, check the Open Banking Safety Block.
If your personal information has actually been leaked and you do not plan to conduct new financial transactions for the time being, you can review the coverage of all three blocking services and consider using the necessary blocks together.
The reason is simple: the three services block different transaction channels. Blocking non-face-to-face account opening does not automatically block loans in the same way, and blocking credit transactions does not automatically block open banking connections.
The Financial Services Commission of Korea said that, as of the end of August 2026, there were approximately 7 million Safety Block service subscriptions. This figure is a simple total of users across the three services and includes people enrolled in more than one service, so it does not mean that 7 million different individuals have enrolled.
How Personal Information Exposure Registration Is Different
The Personal Information Exposure Accident Prevention System does not replace the three Safety Block services. It is a separate protection mechanism that shares information with financial institutions indicating that a person's personal information has been exposed, helping prevent identity theft in subsequent new financial transactions under that person's name.
If you register your information with the Personal Information Exposure Accident Prevention System on FINE, the Financial Consumer Information Portal operated by Korea's Financial Supervisory Service, the information is shared with financial institutions in real time. After registration, activities such as opening a new account or issuing a credit card in your name are restricted.
The difference becomes clear in how the systems operate.
The three Safety Block services preemptively block specified transactions such as loans, non-face-to-face account opening, and open banking.
Personal information exposure registration shares with financial institutions that you are a person whose personal information has been exposed and restricts activities such as opening new accounts and issuing credit cards.
Therefore, if you receive a personal information leak notification, the issue is not necessarily about choosing one system or the other. It is more appropriate to consider whether different protective measures can be used together based on your own risk situation.
What to Do Before Money Has Been Stolen
If no money has yet been withdrawn or transferred, you can first act at the preventive stage.
1. Confirm the leak and the scope of the exposed information directly through the financial institution's official website, app, or main customer service center.
2. Consider registering with the Personal Information Exposure Accident Prevention System.
3. Apply for the Safety Blocks you need among credit transactions, non-face-to-face account opening, and open banking.
4. Check whether any accounts or loans have been created in your name without your knowledge.
5. Do not click web addresses contained in text messages claiming to help confirm a leak or provide compensation.
Korean financial authorities warn consumers to be cautious of methods in which someone claiming to be a financial institution or financial authority sends an internet address by text message and asks for a money transfer under the pretext of providing notice of a personal information leak or compensation for damages. You should also not assume that a contact is genuinely from a financial institution simply because the other party knows information such as your name, income, or borrowing limit.
The related services can be applied for through branches of institutions with which you conduct transactions, including banks, savings banks, NongHyup, Suhyup, credit unions, Saemaul Geumgo, forestry cooperatives, and Korea Post, as well as through Korea's Account Info service, known in Korean as '내계좌한눈에,' and certain bank apps. When you need to conduct the blocked financial transaction again, you can have the block removed at a financial institution branch, complete the transaction, and enroll again afterward.
Open Banking Safety Block Can Affect Services You Already Use
Open Banking Safety Block provides strong security, but it may also affect some services you currently use.
Because transfers and remittances made through open banking are blocked, open-banking-based simplified payment services or purchases of Korean local currency vouchers, known as '지역사랑상품권,' may stop working. Before applying, it is advisable to check which simplified payment services or financial apps you normally use are connected to your bank account through open banking.
If you need to use open banking again, you can remove the block through a financial institution branch. The removal is processed in real time, after which open banking can be used again.
Changing Your Password Is Not the Same as Blocking Financial Transactions
Changing your password may be a necessary step, but it does not serve the same function as a Financial Transaction Safety Block.
Financial fraud involving identity theft is not limited to methods that rely on a single account password. Stolen personal information, identity document information, or authentication information obtained through malicious apps may be combined, so separate tools that block new financial transactions themselves can also be used.
It is also advisable not to store information that can be used for identity verification, such as your Korean resident registration number, financial account passwords, or copies of identification documents, on your mobile phone.
If you first want to check what information may already have been exposed outside your control, you can review leak checking and subsequent measures in 2026 Find My Leaked Information: Email Leak Checks Now Available…What to Do Before AI-Based Deletion.
If You Already Sent Money to a Scammer
If you have already transferred money to a scammer, you should not simply apply for a Safety Block service and wait. If an actual financial loss has occurred, immediately contact the Korean police at 112 or the relevant financial institution's call center and request a payment freeze.
If you suspect financial fraud such as voice phishing but have not yet confirmed an actual transfer loss, you can seek advice through 1394, operated by the Korean National Police Agency's integrated response unit for telecommunications-based financial fraud.
The required action becomes clearer when the situations are separated.
Before money has been taken, use Safety Blocks and personal information exposure registration to help prevent new financial transactions. After you have already sent money, the response changes to requesting a payment freeze.
Korean Authorities' October 2026 Special Response Period
Korean financial authorities issued a consumer alert at the 'Caution' level on October 6, 2026, and said that from the same day they would operate a one-month special response period for secondary damage caused by personal information leaks. The period may be extended if necessary.
At the time of the announcement, authorities explained that no cases had been confirmed in which customer funds had been stolen through voice phishing or similar fraud in connection with the relevant financial company's personal information leak. However, they advised consumers to prepare for risks such as customized loan scams using leaked information or approaches falsely claiming to provide compensation for personal information leak damages.
Therefore, receiving a personal information leak notification does not mean you need to immediately conclude that money has already been withdrawn from your deposit account. Conversely, the fact that no actual damage has yet been confirmed is not a reason to delay preventive measures.
If unauthorized loans in your name are your biggest concern, check the Credit Transaction Safety Block first.
If you are worried that an unfamiliar bank account could be opened in your name, check the Non-Face-to-Face Account Opening Safety Block.
If you are concerned about your account being connected, viewed, or used for transfers through open banking, check the Open Banking Safety Block.
If your personal information has actually been exposed outside your control, separately consider registration with the Personal Information Exposure Accident Prevention System.
And if you have already transferred money to a scammer, requesting a payment freeze takes priority over all four of the measures above.