kakaotalk

In the first half of 2026, approximately 176,000 accounts were blocked by other users after Talk Siren warnings, including Globe Signal, Stranger Signal, and Fake Signal, were displayed. Approximately 35,000 accounts were reported. Compared to the previous half-year period, blocks increased by around 6%, while reports decreased by around 17%.

Trends varied by signal type. For Stranger Signal, which is displayed when users come into contact with unfamiliar users, blocks and reports increased by approximately 62% and 40%, respectively, compared with the previous half-year. Blocks following Globe Signal increased by approximately 2%, remaining at a similar level to the previous half-year. By contrast, blocks and reports following Fake Signal decreased by approximately 54% and 78%, respectively. These figures reflect users’ blocking and reporting actions after a signal was displayed. Changes in these counts alone therefore do not indicate whether the actual risk of phishing has increased or decreased.

During this period, users who saw a Talk Siren warning were increasingly likely to block the other user rather than submit a report. While the monthly number of warning displays gradually increased, the share of displays that led to reports declined. This suggests that more users responded to the warning by immediately blocking the other user or ending the conversation.

Recent analysis suggests that phishing tactics are evolving to involve a range of approaches, including contact through profiles, friend requests, and requests for money after extended periods of trust-building. Reports submitted through Talk Profile showed a high proportion involving users who were already connected as friends. Interactions with overseas accounts and unfamiliar domestic accounts also revealed various tactics, including attempts to initiate voice or video calls, share external links, and lure users into side-job scams.

Because these tactics can appear after a relationship has already begun to form, rather than only at the initial contact stage, they may not always be detected when a Talk Siren warning is shown. Some cases are identified later through user reports and operator review. Advance warnings and follow-up enforcement therefore work at different points in the user protection process. Reviewing this report together with the “Enforcement > General Chat” report can provide a fuller picture of KakaoTalk’s overall response to phishing.

Kakao will continue to improve risk signal detection at the point of profile entry and strengthen detection logic for identifying harm patterns that emerge after trust-building, as well as abnormal activity from repeatedly created malicious accounts. We will also continue to improve user reporting channels and operator review systems so that advance prevention and follow-up enforcement can work together as complementary layers of protection.