How to Avoid Korean Online Shopping Scams

Most Korean online shopping channels offer escrow services as standard, and the level of fraud prevention programs is very high, so it's hard to get scammed on online stores like Coupang and Gmarket. However, it is true that you need to be very careful when purchasing goods through C2C such as bunjang, second hand stores, and social media transactions. Dozens of fraudulent transactions are registered every day, and there are many cases of foreigners sending money to scammers because they don't understand Korean culture. 

Thus, to conduct C2C transactions in Korea, you basically need to add an escrow service or use a credit card, but most sellers only accept bank transfers. Therefore, there are several things you need to check to avoid fraud, so check the following points before making a transaction.

1. Check the status of an item before trading (require photo verification of the current time and your name)
2. Verify the seller's real name, cell phone number, and account number
(Look up the account holder's name, cell phone number, and exact match to their real name)
* Search Link : https://www.police.go.kr/www/security/cyber/cyber04.jsp
3. Record after account transfer (need to check when and how much you deposited, and when it will be delivered)

 

* If you are a victim of a scam, you can get help from the Korean police, or if you are unable to file a claim yourself, you can get help from a representative.
** Please be sure to report the scam to prevent other victims. And if you have any questions about the process, please ask in the comments.

 

Korea Cybercrime Report System
https://ecrm.police.go.kr/minwon/main

사이버범죄 신고시스템 (ECRM)