Consumer Agency Warns to Beware of Fraudulent Overseas Direct Purchase Sites for Clothes and Shoes

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] As overseas direct purchase transactions increase, consumer damages such as refusal of cancellations and refunds or loss of contact are also rising.

The Korea Consumer Agency announced that there were a total of 2,544 consumer consultations related to suspected fraudulent sites received over the past three years. The main damaged items were 'clothing and shoes' at 37.8% (962 cases), and 'personal items' such as bags and sunglasses at 18.0% (458 cases), with fashion-related items accounting for more than half, 55.8%.

Looking at the monthly reception status, influenced by large-scale global discount events such as Guanggunje, Black Friday, and Boxing Day, 47.7% (1,214 cases) of the total were received from November to January, and 13.6% were received in May (174 cases) and June (172 cases), when outdoor activities increase.

By item, 'clothing' ranked first from February to May and from August to October, 'shoes' ranked first in January, 'glasses and sunglasses' in June and July, and 'diet products' ranked first in November and December.

Analyzing access routes, among 1,632 cases, the most common was accessing suspected fraudulent sites after seeing advertisements on social networking services (SNS) such as Instagram and Facebook, accounting for 66.7% (1,089 cases). Cases of accessing by searching brand names or items also accounted for 20.5% (334 cases), and the number of cases accessing sites by direct search is increasing every year.

The Korea Consumer Agency urged consumers to be cautious of sites selling famous brand products at excessively low prices to prevent consumer damage caused by suspected fraudulent sites, and to be sure to check suspected fraudulent sites posted on the International Transaction Consumer Portal operated by the Korea Consumer Agency before purchasing products.

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