Phishing scams involving instant messages in South Korea spiked in 2021 due to increased not-in-person activities amid the coronavirus pandemic, data showed.

The amount in damages from messenger phishing came to 99.1 billion won ($80.3 million) last year, up 166 percent from the previous year, according to the data from the Financial Supervisory Service.

The figure accounted for nearly 59 percent of last year‘s total damages of 168.2 billion won resulting from phishing.

Phishing is a process in which victims are conned into sharing their personal passwords or security codes via phone calls, messages or emails, allowing fraudsters to access their bank accounts. (Yonhap)