A survey found that 82.3% of victims who accessed overseas direct purchase shopping malls through links connected to social media content or personalized advertisements experienced issues. In particular, cases of damage experienced while visiting shopping malls accessed via Instagram and YouTube accounted for 67.1% of the total, indicating a need for caution.
According to the Korea Consumer Agency on the 14th, a total of 264 cases of fraudulent overseas direct purchase shopping mall consultations were reported on the international transaction consumer portal from 2021 to 2023. The number of consultations per year showed a significant increase: ▲251 cases in 2021 ▲441 cases in 2022 ▲1,372 cases in 2023.
Fraudulent overseas direct purchase shopping malls include both domestic and overseas operators. Among the related 2,064 consultations, 1,821 cases with confirmed access pathways revealed that access through social media accounted for 1,499 cases (82.3%).
By social media platform, Instagram recorded the highest number of cases at 762 (41.8%), followed by YouTube with 460 (25.3%), Facebook with 137 (7.5%), internet ads with 192 (10.5%), web browsing and searches with 94 (5.2%), and other sources, such as recommendations from acquaintances, with 36 (2.0%).
Looking at the types of damage, 'brand impersonation' accounted for 972 cases (47.1%), making it the most frequent type. Most of these involved sellers impersonating well-known fashion brands to operate shopping malls, losing contact after payment without delivering products.
The second most common issue arose from sellers offering low-quality products contrary to their advertising, with 959 cases (46.5%).
Many of these shopping malls refused refunds for low-quality products and only offered partial refunds to consumers. Cases involving impersonation of celebrities to sell unrelated products numbered 43 (2.1%), while 31 cases (1.5%) involved the sale of food and drugs with unclear ingredients and manufacturers.
Instagram and YouTube have voluntary regulations that must be followed when posting content and advertisements. They also have a feature that allows users to report illegal or harmful content directly. However, in an online survey conducted by the Korea Consumer Agency involving 1,000 users of Instagram and YouTube, 422 individuals (42.2%) were unaware of the existence of these voluntary regulations, and 597 (59.7%) did not know that a reporting function was available.
The Korea Consumer Agency is requesting active cooperation from Meta and Google to block illegal and harmful content and advertisements, while also collaborating with the Korea Communications Standards Commission to push for access restrictions on locations of fraudulent shopping malls.
The agency advised that when shopping abroad, users should be suspicious of social media advertisements selling well-known brand products at excessively low prices, and visit the brand's official website to compare internet addresses (URLs) and check purchase reviews.
Additionally, to prepare for possible damage, they emphasized making payments by card rather than bank transfer and keeping proof of documents. Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Union pay operate a 'chargeback service' that cancels transaction approvals if consumers suspect fraud, experience undelivered goods, or face refund non-compliance within a certain period after the transaction.