Guiding Goal Market to fake website
Exploiting the psychology of trustworthy ‘safe transaction’
Mo Kwon (27), an office worker, found a post on an internet golf site on the 14th that said used golf club sets were sold for 800,000 won. It was a full set of Xexio that cost more than 3 million won if purchased new, so even if it was used, the price was too low. Kwon was skeptical and inquired about the purchase.
The seller asked from the area where Mr. Kwon lived. To Mr. Kwon, who lives in Seoul, the seller suggested an online safe transaction saying, “I live in Andong, Gyeongsangbuk-do, so direct trading is difficult.”
When I clicked on the link sent by the seller, a screen similar to the safe transaction page of Goal Market, ‘the second-hand country in the golf world’ appeared. However, when I looked at the URL address carefully, it was a fake site disguised as a goal market. The part that should have been marked as ‘golmarket’ was marked as ‘golmar’.
A post about selling a full set of Xexio, which is a new product, which costs more than 3 million won, for a medium price of 800,000 won. It is a bait to lure buyers to fake safe trading sites.
As the shortage of golf clubs has continued for several months, fraud is also increasing in the used club market. A typical example is using the safe transaction system to deceive victims. Safe transaction is a transaction method to minimize fraud damage when transacting goods non-face-to-face.
When the buyer pays, a professional company intervenes in the middle to keep the money, and after the buyer receives the item, the payment is delivered to the seller. Because the payment is delivered to the seller only after the buyer approves it, many people trust and use safe transactions.
Second hand scammers abuse their belief in safe trading. After asking from the area where the victim lives, they induce safe transactions by stating that “direct transaction is impossible because the distance is too far.” They then send the victim a link to the fake safe transaction page they created. It has a page shape and URL address similar to those of widely known sites such as second-hand country or Goal Market, so it is difficult to distinguish them unless you look closely.
○Getting golf clubs is ‘picking up the stars in the sky’
It is very difficult to find golf clubs, so there is a lot of fraud in the second-hand market. There are many people who want to buy golf clubs, but the supply is not keeping up with the demand. Logistics in major parts producing countries such as China is not smooth. Also, as Russia invaded Ukraine, the price of key raw materials for golf clubs, such as titanium and stainless steel, skyrocketed.
Purchasing new golf clubs is heavenly. There are department stores that have stopped selling reservations at all, and since goods are not in stock, large golf equipment companies often leave their shelves empty. Naturally, demand has shifted to the second-hand market. According to Bungang Market, a second-hand sales site, from January 1 to April 7 of this year, the number of transactions in the golf category was about 119,000, and the transaction amount was close to KRW 22.3 billion. Compared to the same period of the previous year, the figures increased by 132% and 185%, respectively.
Correspondent Yerin Choi rambutan@hankyung.com
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