"I Trusted the High 'Manner Temperature'... Gave My Danggeun ID for Neighborhood Verification, Then Got Scammed"

Scammers Commit Secondhand Fraud Using Stolen IDs
Danggeun: "Accounts Involved in Lending Will Be Permanently Banned"

Numerous cases have been reported on Danggeun, a local community-based secondhand trading application, where scammers deceive users by offering to verify different neighborhoods, then steal their IDs and commit secondhand fraud. On October 30, Yonhap News reported that many posts have recently appeared on online communities, with users claiming their Danggeun accounts were lent out and subsequently used for secondhand scams.

Danggeun requires users to verify their neighborhood using a smartphone GPS system in order to continue trading. As a result, some users who find items listed far from their current residence seek out people in KakaoTalk open chat rooms to verify the neighborhood on their behalf. They provide their ID and password, allowing the other party to complete the verification process for them.

The problem is that these borrowed Danggeun accounts have been used for secondhand scams. In reported cases, scammers who promised to verify the neighborhood used the received account credentials to post fraudulent listings. Users who handed over their IDs and passwords said they trusted the person offering to verify their neighborhood due to the high "manner temperature" on their profile.

As these issues have repeatedly occurred, Danggeun has clarified that account lending is strictly prohibited. Through a customer service notice, Danggeun stated, "We do not allow false or abnormal neighborhood verification." The company explained that, since account lending often happens outside the app, they automatically issue warnings if they detect attempts to lure users outside the chat window.

Additionally, Danggeun has implemented a policy where logging in with multiple numbers on a single device is restricted after a certain number of attempts. The company also monitors for abnormal usage patterns and imposes sanctions if any are detected. A Danggeun representative said, "Recently, there have been reports on social media of accounts with high manner temperature or numerous transaction reviews being lent out for scams, so users should be cautious. If a scam occurs due to account lending, the account in question will also be permanently sanctioned, so it is important not to comply with requests to lend your account."

Meanwhile, some have raised concerns that users who are using phone numbers previously associated with secondhand scams are unable to register for Danggeun. In response, Danggeun explained that they lift the restriction after confirming through a carrier-issued subscription certificate that the phone was activated at a different time than when the number was used for scams.