"Unavailable or Sold-Out Products, Order Here"... If You Do, It's a Scam

Frequent Fraud Cases Including Inducing Repayment After Cancellation
Netizens Share Similar Damage Cases

A consumer who tried to purchase a camping stove from an online shopping mall was scammed by a fraudulent business impersonating a well-known shopping mall.

On the 4th, a post titled "I was scammed buying a camping stove" was uploaded to an online community.

The author, Mr. A, explained the incident's beginning: "While looking for a new model of a famous brand camping stove, I couldn't purchase it from the official site, so I paid by card at another shopping mall selling it at the same price."

An online shopper who was trying to purchase a camping stove fell victim to a scam by a fraudulent company impersonating a well-known shopping mall.
[Photo by Pixabay]

Mr. A said, "The shopping mall told me they would provide the official site, so I should cancel and pay again," adding, "They said it would be a bit cheaper if I paid in cash and that they would issue a cash receipt, so I bought it, but I never thought it would be a scam."

He shared messages exchanged with the company, hoping "no one else suffers like me."

The scam shopping mall, impersonating a well-known outlet name and using introduction photos, and claiming to be the IT team leader, instructed, "You must pay the product price of 400,000 won plus a 1,000 won fee. Since it is an automatic transfer system, the new payment must be processed first for the refund of the previous purchase to be possible."

When Mr. A requested cancellation and a refund, the shopping mall repeatedly urged additional payments, and despite Mr. A's suspicious questions like "Why can't I call?" and "How can I trust and send money again?", they only kept repeating that after additional payment, a full refund would be possible.

Eventually, Mr. A deposited an additional 401,000 won as requested to get a refund. In total, he sent 801,000 won to the scam shopping mall.

Mr. A, who continued to feel suspicious, confronted the shopping mall by saying, "The refund system is strange," and "I will call the Consumer Agency." In response, the shopping mall boldly replied, "Would a large shopping mall like us scam customers out of their money?"
[Photo by Online Community 'BobaeDream']

However, the shopping mall incited him to deposit another 401,000 won, saying, "The process is not properly handled because you did not follow procedures such as applying on the homepage."

Feeling increasingly suspicious, Mr. A pressed, saying, "The refund system is strange," and "I will call the Consumer Agency." The shopping mall responded boldly, "Would a large shopping mall like us scam customers?"

When the angry author said, "I will report this to the police," the company promised a refund but did not keep it. When the author showed a list of scam sites found online, the company said, "You are the only one who thinks this is a scam," and then disappeared. Ultimately, Mr. A suffered a loss of 801,000 won.

Mr. A said, "I usually shop carefully, so I never expected this," and added, "I hope no one else suffers the same."

He also said, "For reference, portal sites say they are not responsible for damages occurring on weekends. That's why they said this site operates only on weekends," adding, "800,000 won can be a lot of money to someone, and I am still dumbfounded that they scam like this."

Netizens who saw this shared similar victim stories. According to their shared experiences, the method was similar. When paying by card on portal sites, they were told, "The product is sold out, and you can only buy it on the official website," or "You can buy it cheaper with cash," inducing cash payments.

Famous Shopping Mall Domain Theft, Demands for Re-Payment After Payment

They are engaging in sophisticated fraud by directly copying business information, images, and logos from famous online malls while making subtle changes to the official website address, such as adding an extra alphabet at the end (e.g., adding an 's' at the end) or inserting special characters (e.g., inserting a '-' in the middle), making it difficult to detect without close inspection.
[Photo by Seoul Electronic Commerce Center]

Fraudulent sellers impersonating famous online malls typically register products at the lowest price on online intermediary malls (open markets). When consumers purchase the product, they cancel the order citing stock shortages and induce repurchase on a pre-made impersonation site, stealing the payment and causing damage.

In online intermediary malls (open markets), sellers cannot receive payment until the product is delivered to the consumer, making theft impossible. Therefore, scammers use 'fake sites' impersonating famous online malls or induce cash payments.

Notably, over 90% of related damages occurred through specific online intermediary malls (open markets) where even non-business operators can easily register after identity verification, with transactions concentrated on weekends when monitoring is lax.

Especially, scammers cleverly commit fraud by directly stealing business information, images, and logos of famous online malls while making subtle changes to official website addresses, such as adding alphabets (e.g., adding an 's' at the end) or inserting special characters (e.g., a '-' in the middle), making it hard to detect without close inspection.

The open market operators emphasized, "You should familiarize yourself with scam types and prevention tips in advance." They advised, "If a registered seller cancels an order and then, using bait like sold-out or additional discounts, contacts you via text or messenger to direct you to a separate site and induce cash payment, it is best not to purchase."

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