Personal information of some customers has been leaked due to a hacking incident at Giftiel, a Lotte-affiliated mobile gift certificate service.

Spoon Inc., the operator of Giftiel, is a subsidiary of Daehong Communications, an advertising company under the Lotte Group.

Giftiel issues and sells mobile exchange vouchers for Lotte-affiliated brands.

Spoon announced that it confirmed on October 22 that personal information of some customers was leaked due to unauthorized external access.

The leaked items include names, mobile phone numbers, email addresses, and refund account numbers.

Spoon stated that immediately after detecting the incident, it blocked the attacking IP and strengthened system access controls.

It also explained that it reported the incident to specialized security institutions and relevant government ministries and requested an investigation.

The company stated that it is currently conducting a joint investigation with relevant authorities, strengthening database (DB) access monitoring, and formulating measures to prevent recurrence.

It explained that it is individually notifying customers whose personal information was leaked via text message (MMS).

Spoon urged customers to be cautious of text messages, emails, or phone calls from unverified sources and to refrain from clicking on suspicious links. It also recommended that if financial fraud utilizing the leaked account information is suspected, customers check their account status through services such as Account Info (the integrated account management service).

The company added, "We once again deeply apologize for failing to safely protect your valuable information, and we will do our utmost to prevent additional damage and recurrence."

(Photo: Capture from the Giftiel website, Yonhap News)