Last Year’s Damage Amount: 5.512 Billion KRW
From Demands for Money to Investment Solicitation
Office worker Park (36) has become deeply engrossed in dating applications (apps). Initially started out of curiosity, he soon found enjoyment in chatting with various people. Park said, “I downloaded it recently because I was bored, and it feels like my dating instincts are coming back,” adding, “There are quite a few strange people, so I block them immediately when that happens.”
Recently, dating apps have become a means for starting relationships among the MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z), rapidly expanding the market size. However, so-called 'romance scams,' where scammers gain trust by showing affection and then demand money, are rampant, requiring caution.
According to market research firm Statista on the 23rd, the global dating app market size is expected to grow from $8.1 billion in 2024 to $8.7 billion in 2027. The domestic market is also predicted to grow from $35.07 million in 2024 to $36.42 million by 2028. As the number of dating app users increases, romance scam damages have surged. The amount lost to romance scams rose significantly from 370 million KRW in 2020 to 3.13 billion KRW in 2021, 3.96 billion KRW in 2022, and 5.512 billion KRW in 2023.
The methods of romance scams vary. They range from simply asking to borrow money to now encouraging investments. Person A was arrested on charges of deceiving seven men met through dating apps from September 2017 to November 2023, embezzling approximately 3 billion KRW. A pretended to be wealthy by traveling abroad with the men and giving luxury gifts, then extorted money claiming business funds were needed. Victims reported to the police only after losing contact with A. Last year, Person B built a friendship with a Singaporean woman on a dating app for about two months. The woman shared stories of successful cryptocurrency investments to induce investment, and B transferred 80 million KRW. However, the cryptocurrency trading site was fake from the start, and the woman deleted her account and disappeared.
Under current law, regulation of dating apps focuses on reactive measures. According to the National Assembly Legislative Research Office’s “Measures to Strengthen Protection for Online Dating Service Users,” aside from the Youth Protection Act and Personal Information Protection Act, regulations on service providers are limited to post-facto actions against false advertising and distribution of illegal recordings. Additionally, only perpetrators of tangible and intangible damages through online dating services are subject to punishment. Ultimately, there are limitations in preventing various crimes in advance, and user protection mechanisms are necessary.
Proposed measures to protect dating app users include mandatory identity verification and safety notifications. False accounts are a major cause of criminal damage, so measures to prevent false accounts that deceive others about their identity beforehand are essential. Mandatory safety notifications, as seen in the U.S., require clearly and prominently informing users about the possibility of false information from others, the need for careful decision-making regarding meetings, caution about personal information exposure, stopping contact if personal information is requested, and rules for offline meetings.
Professor Kim Do-woo of the Department of Police Science at Gyeongnam National University said, “Romance scams are meticulous and planned, so victims inevitably get drawn in and it is difficult to recognize in advance,” but added, “Like voice phishing, when money is requested without verified identity, one should be suspicious. The number of crimes will increase and the targets will broaden. Legal and institutional improvements such as monitoring of proxy bank accounts and strengthening remittance procedures are also necessary.”
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
