Flea Market Apps Are Ripe with Scams

Second-hand marketplace apps are teeming with scammers.

According to the Korea Consumer Agency on Tuesday, a whopping 23.8 percent of people who bought or sold used goods online may have fallen victim to scams.

The figure is based on the KCA's survey of 1,150 users of apps Daangn Market, Bungaejangter or Hello Market. Many of the frauds involved products that were different than advertised or refusals to reimburse buyers for returned products.

One staffer at a mobile platform said, "Face-to-face transactions allow buyers to inspect products, but online transactions often require prepayments before delivering the goods."

One customer bought a used hair dryer through a mobile app, but was unable to get it as the seller disappeared shortly after the money was sent. Another customer bought a laptop and demanded a refund when out of date, but the seller refused.

Meanwhile, the KCA said 40.3 percent of transactions on second-hand marketplace apps involved products costing between W10,000 and W30,000 and 21.7 percent between W50,000 and W100,000 (US$1=W1,331). The average transaction amount was W48,891.