Victims say with one voice that they did not know that they would be subjected to so-called “review fraud.”
This means that the fraudsters’ methods are sophisticated and persistent.
Our reporters visited the addresses where these online shopping malls are registered.
The business name and address were all someone else’s.
Reporter Geon-Hee Jo then covered the story.
◀ Report ▶
These are online shopping malls where victims purchased products and posted reviews.
The shapes of the logos of the sites are different, but the items, photos, menu layout, etc. of the products being sold are all the same.
Below the items are purchase reviews that appear to have been written by victims.
When I tried to purchase the item, it said that card payment was not possible and that the purchase could only be made by recharging points with cash.
The business addresses listed on the website are scattered throughout the country, including Seoul, Gyeonggi, Gyeongnam, and Busan.
I visited a shopping mall office in the North Chungcheong region.
As you enter the residential area, a store with the same name as the shopping mall appears.
The name of the store is the same, but interior items are on display inside. Even though it is daytime on a weekday, the lights are off and the door is tightly closed.
This store has been closed since 5 years ago.
[인근 카페 직원 (음성변조)]
″I just pay rent and use it like a warehouse. They just don’t sell it at all and have absolutely nothing to do with this site. The content doesn’t matter at all.″
I visited other areas, but all I found were villas and empty officetels that had nothing to do with shopping malls.
They even posted the business registration number, address of headquarters, and name of the CEO of telecommunication company KT.
Companies whose business information and addresses have been stolen without their knowledge have recently been plagued by reports and complaints from fraud victims.
[도용 피해 업체 (음성변조)]
″They say there are victims of our e-commerce theft. But we have never operated such a site.”
The statement that they were located in Coupang was also false.
Coupang said, “We are aware of the existence of review fraud impersonating Coupang employees,” and stated, “Coupang does not offer review events through personal mobile phones.”
As damage increased, the National Investigation Headquarters of the National Police Agency also responded directly.
The police began an intensive investigation by distributing cases to local offices across the country according to the location of the account used for fraud, and also began tracking Daepo’s bank account and overseas servers.
This is Geonhee Jo from MBC News.
Video coverage: Lee Jun-ha, Han Jae-hoon, Dok Go-myeong / Video editing: Heo Yu-bin
