Recently, there have been incidents of damage related to overseas shopping malls using a method of inducing payment by advertising famous brand sneakers at discounted prices on Social Networking Services (SNS), and then arbitrarily charging additional amounts under the guise of digital content subscription fees. The Korea Consumer Agency revealed that since the discovery of such cases in the ‘International Trade Consumer Portal’ in February, a total of 11 cases have been reported until last month.
In these cases of damage, fraudulent overseas shopping malls advertised popular brand sneakers like New Balance and Adidas on platforms such as Instagram and Facebook for prices ranging from 2,700 to 3,600 won. By clicking on the ad and accessing the website, consumers were able to participate in a game to find the box containing the sneakers among six boxes. It was later revealed that all participants were programmed to win in this game in advance.
After purchasing the sneakers with a credit card, additional charges were made within three days under the guise of digital content subscription fees. Some consumers were charged amounts up to 25 times the price of the sneakers without their consent. Those who suffered damages did not receive the sneakers nor were they refunded the additional charges. When requested for a refund, the business owners repeatedly stated that cancelling the contract would prevent additional charges, and often did not respond to requests for refund or delayed their responses.
As the affected overseas shopping malls were connected through SNS advertising, consumers could not find the mall’s address (URL) or even locate it through search. The Korea Consumer Agency plans to send a letter requesting preventive measures against such consumer damages to Meta, which operates platforms like Instagram and Facebook.
The Korea Consumer Agency advised, “If dealing with overseas shopping malls for the first time, one should check for any reported damage cases through the International Trade Consumer Portal or internet search, and make purchase decisions and payments carefully. Since excessively low prices compared to market prices may indicate fraudulent sales, extra caution is necessary.” They further explained that utilizing a credit (debit) card for services like Chargeback protection is recommended in case of damage, and requesting assistance from the International Trade Consumer Portal if disputes with overseas shopping malls cannot be resolved smoothly. Chargeback services allow requesting authorization cancellations within 120 or 180 days from the date of purchase in cases of suspicion of fraud, undelivered goods, or failure to refund.