The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 5th that it has issued a consumer warning after consumer damage incidents involving clothing brands impersonated in social media (SNS) advertisements continued.
According to the Seoul Electronic Commerce Center and Korea Consumer Agency (KCA), there have been a total of 137 consumer consultations related to clothing brand impersonation received as of July this year. Of the 112 cases with verified access routes, 93.7% (105 cases) reported damage through discount advertisements on SNS such as Instagram.
The clothing brands being impersonated include Alo, Stussy, and Wooyoungmi.
Most of the damage types involve payments made on online sites, but the consumers do not receive the products. The method lures them to fake online sites by advertising these brands' clothing on SNS. Terms such as '85% off,' 'one-day only,' and 'free shipping' are used to entice consumers to make purchases, but when consumers request refunds afterward, the scammers do not respond or cut off contact without delivering the products.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, these scam sites have been operated overseas. They were reportedly designed to mislead consumers into believing they are the official site by directly using the brand logos, homepage layout, and product descriptions from the official website.
In response, the Seoul Metropolitan Government stated that those who encounter overseas shopping malls for the first time through Instagram ads should verify whether they are official sites, and they should be cautious about websites that combine brand names with specific words.
Moreover, using a credit card that allows a 'chargeback' request within 120 days from the purchase date can be helpful when making payments. This service allows consumers who suspect fraud, are dealing with non-delivery, or have not received refunds to request cancellation of approved transactions with their credit card companies within 120 days (VISA, MasterCard, AMEX) or 180 days (Union Pay) from the purchase date.
Kim Myung-sun, the head of the Fair Economy Division at the Seoul Metropolitan Government, said, 'We will continue to monitor and implement measures to block access to fraudulent sites to prevent consumer damage.'