Rising scams target second-hand sellers with fake payment schemes

[Anchor]

There have been increasing cases recently where individuals selling items through second-hand trading sites end up being scammed instead of receiving payment for their goods.

You might be wondering how this could happen.

Please pay close attention to the methods used and be cautious.

This is reporter Yeo So-yeon.

[Report]

Last month, Person A listed a necklace and other items for sale on an online second-hand trading site.

They received a message expressing interest in purchasing the items just five days later.

[Person A/Second-hand trading scam victim/voice altered: "I had listed the necklace and earrings as a set for 200,000 won, and the buyer asked, 'Can I see the actual photos?' acting as if they were genuinely interested in buying them."]

The buyer suggested conducting the transaction on another internet site, claiming that they could avoid transaction fees.

Thinking they could save money, Person A proceeded with the transaction on that site, but the problem arose when it came time to receive the payment.

When they tried to receive the payment, the site’s customer service claimed that verification was needed and instead demanded money from them.

[Person A/Second-hand trading scam victim/voice altered: "They said they would just verify if my account number and withdrawal account number matched. If I wanted to request a withdrawal of 200,000 won, I needed to deposit a security amount..."]

They continued to demand deposits, using excuses like 'You need to enter the amount down to the last won' and 'The withdrawal was halted because the amounts were entered differently.' Person A ended up sending a total of 1.4 million won without ever receiving the payment for their items.

Both the person claiming to buy the items and the second-hand trading site that promised to save on fees were fake.

[Person A/Second-hand trading scam victim/voice altered: "As people started to realize this was a scam and began reporting it on the second-hand trading site, new sites emerged with different names..."]

There have been 40 reported cases of such scams to the police.

The total amount of damages exceeds 300 million won.

The second-hand trading site has confirmed dozens of accounts used in similar scams, indicating that the actual damage may be even greater.

This is KBS News, Yeo So-yeon.