More than 600 Relief Applications Annually Since 2022
"Should Not Be Used Due to Lack of Scientific Evidence"
There have been numerous cases of damages caused by using lotto winning number prediction services without scientific evidence, prompting a need for caution.
According to the Korea Consumer Agency on the 29th, a total of 1,917 damage relief applications related to lotto winning number prediction services were received over the past five years (2019?2023). In particular, more than 600 cases have been reported annually since 2022.
By type of damage, "refusal to refund usage fees and excessive penalty charges upon contract cancellation or termination" accounted for 60.9% (1,168 cases), exceeding half. This was followed by "breach of contract such as failure to refund when not winning" at 27.6% (529 cases), and "refusal to refund upon withdrawal of subscription" at 7.3% (139 cases).
Cases where compensation could not be processed due to loss of contact with the business operator accounted for 41.4% (788 cases). Notably, incidents of processing failure due to loss of contact with the operator, which was only 3.0% until the first quarter of 2022, surged to 19.5% in the first quarter of this year.
The Consumer Agency emphasized, "To prevent damage, consumers should not be deceived by lotto winning number prediction services that lack scientific evidence," and added, "For special agreements such as guaranteed winnings, proof materials like recordings or text messages should be secured." They also urged that contract cancellations be notified in writing, such as by certified mail, rather than verbally.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
