Evolving Used Goods Scams Using Non-Face-to-Face Methods

[Used Goods Market Black Hands] Post-COVID Excuse Sparks Surge in 'Contactless Scam Transactions'

Convenience Store Delivery Lured Then Hijacked
Increase in Fraud Exploiting Preference for Contactless Deals

Online Scams Reported to TheCheat
Over 20% Rise Compared to Same Period Last Year
Insufficient Controls Given Market Size

[Asia Economy Reporters Byungdon Yoo, Jeongyun Lee] #Last spring, when the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) crisis was escalating, Seo Mo (38) posted a watch worth around 10 million won on the secondhand goods trading service 'Danggeun Market.' A buyer immediately appeared. Seo suggested meeting in person for the transaction since it was a valuable item, but the buyer made an excuse, saying "I am in a different province, so it's difficult," and requested a "parcel delivery transaction." The buyer said they would transfer the money if Seo sent a photo of the parcel delivery slip from a convenience store and the item placed in the parcel locker. Seo followed the buyer's instructions, placed the item in the parcel locker, and waited for the payment. However, the money never arrived, and when Seo checked the parcel locker due to suspicion, the item was already gone. The scammer exploited the fact that convenience stores do not properly manage parcel lockers, stayed near the convenience store, and quickly took the item from the locker.

As the secondhand trading market has grown nearly fourfold over the past decade, fraud cases exploiting this have also increased. With the diversification of transaction types and platforms, scam methods have become increasingly sophisticated. Especially recently, due to the impact of COVID-19, non-face-to-face (untact) transactions have become frequent, leading to a corresponding rise in fraud cases. According to the National Police Agency on the 8th, the number of cyber fraud cases last year was 136,074. This is a steady increase from 92,636 cases in 2017 and 112,000 in 2018. The amount of damage also grew uncontrollably from 17.6 billion won in 2017 to 27.8 billion won in 2018, and a staggering 83.4 billion won last year. The police analyze that about 65% of all cyber fraud cases are related to secondhand trading scams. Online fraud reports submitted to the fraud victim information sharing site 'The Cheat' surged by more than 20% compared to the same period last year.

The increase in secondhand trading scams is attributed to the rise in secondhand trading platforms, the broadening user base and age groups, and the overall market expansion. The distribution industry estimates the secondhand market size, excluding the used car market, to be in the 20 trillion won range. Despite the market growth, safety measures to prevent various crimes remain insufficient. Professor Yonggu Seo of the Department of Business Administration at Sookmyung Women's University analyzed, "The activation of secondhand trading seems related to income reduction caused by COVID-19." Professor Yunseong Oh of the Department of Police Administration at Soonchunhyang University said, "Rather than national institutions intervening in peer-to-peer secondhand transactions, it is desirable for consumers to widely share fraud cases and prepare self-help measures."

However, when problems occur, secondhand trading platform companies tend to evade responsibility by claiming their legal status as intermediaries of telecommunication sales. As the number of users increases, there is a growing call for these platforms to actively protect consumers by verifying sellers' identities or introducing safe transaction services. Under the current Electronic Commerce Act, secondhand trading intermediaries have obligations to protect consumers, such as providing access to sellers' identity information and installing mechanisms to assist in consumer damage relief applications.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.