Number of Fraudulent Shopping Mall Consultations Increasing Every Year
A Total of 2,064 Cases Reported from 2021 to 2023
Instagram and YouTube Account for 67%, Ranking First
As overseas direct purchases increase, consumer damage has occurred, such as sellers impersonating famous brands or cutting off contact after selling products through social media, requiring caution.
Direct purchase items are piled up at the Incheon Airport Headquarters Customs Express Logistics Center in Jung-gu, Incheon. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung
According to the Korea Consumer Agency on the 14th, the number of consultations on fraudulent overseas direct purchase shopping malls received by the International Trade Consumer Portal has been increasing every year, with 251 cases in 2021, 441 cases in 2022, and 1,372 cases in 2023. Fraudulent overseas direct purchase shopping malls include both companies operated domestically and those operated overseas.
Among a total of 2,064 related consultations over the past three years, 1,821 cases with confirmed access routes showed that access through social media such as Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, KakaoTalk, cafes, Twitter, and TikTok accounted for 1,499 cases (82.3%), making up the majority. By social media platform, Instagram was the highest with 762 cases (41.8%), followed by YouTube with 460 cases (25.3%). Next were Facebook with 137 cases (7.5%), internet advertisements with 192 cases (10.5%), web surfing and searches with 94 cases (5.2%), and others such as recommendations from acquaintances with 36 cases (2.0%).
By type of damage, 'brand impersonation' ranked first with 972 cases (47.1%). This mostly involved sellers impersonating famous fashion brands to operate shopping malls, cutting off contact after payment without delivering the products. Cases where sellers sold low-quality products contrary to advertisements followed closely with 959 cases (46.5%). These shopping malls often refused refunds for low-quality products and only proposed partial refunds to consumers.
Additionally, there were 43 cases (2.1%) of impersonating celebrities to sell unrelated products, and 31 cases (1.5%) of selling food and pharmaceuticals with unclear ingredients and manufacturers.
Instagram and YouTube have self-regulation rules that must be followed when posting content and advertisements. They also have functions that allow users to directly report illegal or harmful content. However, according to an online survey conducted by the Korea Consumer Agency targeting 1,000 Instagram and YouTube users, 422 people (42.2%) were unaware of the existence of self-regulation, and 597 people (59.7%) did not know about the reporting function.
The Consumer Agency is requesting active cooperation from Meta and Google to block illegal and harmful content and advertisements, while also working with the Korea Communications Commission and others to block access by filtering addresses of illegal fraudulent shopping malls. Furthermore, consumers are advised when making overseas direct purchases to ▲ be suspicious of social media advertisements selling famous brand products at excessively low prices ▲ visit the brand’s official website to compare internet addresses (URLs) and check purchase reviews ▲ keep evidence such as screenshots of advertisements, purchase, and payment details to prepare for possible damage ▲ pay with credit (or debit) cards and apply for the 'chargeback service' with the card company with evidence if damage occurs.
Visa, MasterCard, Amex, UnionPay, and others operate chargeback services that allow overseas consumers to cancel transaction approvals within a certain period if they apply due to reasons such as suspected fraud, non-delivery, or refund non-fulfillment.
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