South Korea sees surge in YouTube-linked overseas shopping scams

Consumer complaints regarding overseas shopping malls promoted through YouTube advertisements have surged in South Korea. According to data from the Korea Consumer Agency and the Seoul Electronic Commerce Center, 359 related consultations were recorded in the first half of the year, with cases rising from 31 in January to 142 in June.

The most frequent issues include misleading or exaggerated advertising and refusals to process refunds or cancellations, both accounting for 24 percent of cases. Other reported problems include sellers becoming unreachable (21.7 percent), delivery issues (13.4 percent), and excessive return shipping fees (11.4 percent).

Clothing and fashion items represent the largest category of complaints at 63.2 percent, followed by household goods and health/hygiene products. The average loss per incident is approximately 71,000 won, with nearly 89 percent of cases involving transactions under 100,000 won. Consumers in their 50s and 60s or older are disproportionately affected, making up over 65 percent of identified victims.