Gift Card Selling : How to Protect Yourself From Scams

Gift card selling , it was from a college student who lost 100,000 KRW worth of tuition. It’s from a mother who was saving 300,000 KRW in Shinsegae vouchers for her child, only to find them worthless. Here are their common sentiments: “I was trying to sell my gift card and  that person just disappeared.”

They didn’t come to my legitimate business first. They visited an unverified stranger on Karrot or another suspicious website that they stumbled upon while scrolling through Naver. And in a flash, their money was gone.

These victims aren’t foolish. They are busy. They are trusting. They fell victim to professional, sophisticated con artists who prey on the very two things that make us all human: desperate urgency (I need cash now) and greed (I want the best rate).

I’m just exhausted watching this happen. 상품권 판매 (gift card selling) is a trust-based industry, but these “ghosts” are corrupting the well.

I’m going to peel back the curtain. I know their playbook. I know their tricks in gift card selling. I’m going to reveal how to identify them and ensure you will never be a guy writing that email or coming on a coaching call with me begging for help.

Part 1: The Scammer’s Bait  The “95% Payout” Lie

The number one tool of a scammer is an unrealistic promise.

You’ll find it on a P2P (peer-to-peer) site like Joonggonara or in a Twitter DM. You’re in possession of a 100,000 KRW card and some “buyer” tries to get you by with 95,000 or even 98,000 KRW.

That sounds like a fantastic deal. A business like mine could pay you up to 88,000 KRW. Here is the harsh reality from inside the industry: That 95% offer is a 100% scam.

Think about it. A real business has costs. We have to pay for:

• Risk of Fraud: If a card we purchase is stolen, that loss is on us.
  
• Employee: Actual customer service worker who responds to your KakaoTalk messages.
  
• Bank Fees: Businesses don’t get free bank transfers instantly.
  
• Resale Channels: We then need to resell that card, which also comes with costs.
  

After all that, the profit margin is not much. The fee is what keeps us in business.

A scammer has zero costs. They don’t have offices, employees or intentions of paying you. Their “cost” is zero, which allows them to provide you with a “profit” of 98,000 KRW.

Don’t let that 95,000 KRW bait folks on the side of the road pretend like they’re offering you a price. It’s the cheese for the mousetrap. They are exploiting your desire to get the “best deal” in order to take your 100,000 KRW.

Part 2: Anatomy of a Scam- The Three Big Traps I see all the time.

Scammers are lazy; they’re not very creative. They use the same three playbooks again and again because they are effective. Here’s what I see from my side of the industry.

Scam 1: The P2P “PIN First” scam (The Karrot / Joonggonara horror story)

This type of scam is the most frequently occurring in Korea. It’s low-tech, personal, and brutal.

How it Works: You upload your 50,000 KRW card to a P2P app. A “buyer” messages you. They seem polite and trustworthy. They say, “This looks great! Could you please send me the PIN code beforehand? All I have to do is confirm that it’s legit so I can go ahead and send the 48,000 KRW.”)

What You Do: You’re like, “That seems reasonable.” You scratch off the PIN and send them its 16 digits.

The Attack: You send and that’s it. You just gave them the keys.” They will either do the following in less than 60 seconds:

• Redeem card on their account (charge & it’s their Culture Land card forever).
  
• Use it to purchase a single digital item (like a game).
  
• Flip it for a quick 44,000 KRW with another automated platform.
  

The Result: You wait. You send, “Did you get it?” No reply. You send, “Hello?” You check their profile. “User has left the chat.” They have blocked you. Your 50,000 KRW is gone.

My Insider Advice: You should NEVER, EVER message an individual a PIN code. You have zero protection. A real 상품권 판매 (gift card selling) deal is never made through a KakaoTalk or Karrot chat window. You need a safe, automatic webform to do this.

Scam 2: The Bogus “Professional” Website (The “Ghost” Site)

This one is a little more advanced, aimed at guys who are wise to P2P.

How it Works: A scammer puts together a sleek-looking website that looks very professional. It has a professional-looking logo, a zippy server and an easy-to-use web form: “Enter Your PIN,” “Enter Your Bank Account.” It could even be topped off by a sponsored ad on Naver.

What You Do: You believe the site. You key in your 100,000 KRW password and bank credentials. You hit “Submit.”

The Attack One of two things occurs.

• The Silent Theft: The page only reads “Processing. for a long, long time. It never completes. You feel annoyed and close the tab because you think the site is broken. The truth is, by now an alert has dispatched your pin to the scammer who has already vacuumed up your account.
  
• The “Error” Message: You receive a phony notification that says your PIN is invalid or that you have 0 KRW. You’re like, “Oh, my card is bad.” You give up. The scammer simply pulled a fast one on you by making you believe your card was bad when they were really stealing it.
  

The Result: You’re out money, and now a scammer has your bank account number and full name.

My Insider Advice: That’s why you have to vet the platform. A legitimate business is much more than just a website. I will tell you how to vet them in Part 3.

Rip-off 3: The “Advance Fee”  “Verification Deposit” Rip-off

It’s the most audacious scam of all. They won’t just steal your card; they’ll steal more of your money.

How It Works: You pass your card to what appears to be a perfectly normal site. You receive a text message: “Authorized transaction of 100,000 KRW! To confirm your identity and prevent fraud, please deposit 3,000 won as a verification deposit .We will pay it back to you with your 88,000 KRW payout all together 91,000 KRW.”

What You Do: This is professional, isn’t it? Banks do this. So you send the 3,000 KRW.

The Attack: Not only did they just scam you, again. They keep your 3,000 KRW deposit and 100,000 KRW gift card.

The Outcome: 103,000 KRW down the drain. You will never be refunded.

My Insider Advice: A real company will not request that you send money to them. We authenticate our users with a simple and smooth ID verification you can do just on your mobile or showing us a copy of your ID card/IQAMA. We pay you; you never pay us.

Section 3: My “Industry Insider” Litmus Test Checklist

So let me tell you, as a business owner, what it means to create something real versus a ghost. An actual business is transparent, public and accountable. A scam is without a face, untraceable and here today, gone tomorrow.

Take the following 5-point test before you trust any site with your PIN. It takes two minutes.

Search for the Business Registration Number 

Why: This is the #1 marker of a legitimate, responsible Korean business. It’s the law. A corporation becomes a legal person when it is recognized by the government, which can hold it responsible.

Where It Is: At the very bottom of the website . It should be listed prominently, along with the company name , CEO’s name  and a physical address.

Red Flag: NO business number, NO address, and NO CEO name = close the tab right now. You are on a ghost site.

Test Their Customer Support Are They Real?

Why: Scammers don’t have the time to answer your questions. Real businesses do.

How to test: Check out a KakaoTalk channel, or phone number. Ask them a simple, live question: “What time are you open?” or “how much will you buy back a 50k KRW Culture Land card for now”?

Red Flag: If nothing on the line, Kakao channel operated by bot or you get no response  don’t make a move. A real business has real people you can speak with.

Check the “Age” of the Site.

Why: Scammers pop up and vanish. They launch a new site, con 100 people, and close up before police reports catch on. Real businesses have been doing this for years.

How to test: Is there a blog of old posts on the site? Do a fast Naver search for their brand name. Do they have buzz in 2024? 2023?

Red Flag: A brand-spanking-new looking site with no history and no community mentions is super high-risk.

Do They Need ID Verification ?

Why: It’s a pain, maybe, but it’s the best possible indication of a legitimate gift card selling company

What it is: A legit platform will  for gift card selling for your first transaction ask you to verify your identity. Take this as complying with Korean financial regulations on money laundering and fraud (like someone once cashing a card they stole from you).

Red Flag: Any website which does not require verification can be considered as a big red flag. It tells you they don’t care about the law, and if someone doesn’t care about that, they don’t care about paying you.

Do They Have Transparent and Reasonable Fees ?

Why: A legitimate business is up front about its pricing.

How to Test: The site should include an easy-to-use calculator. It shouldn’t simply shout gift card selling “95% Payout!” It would say, “We buy X for Y.”

Red Flag: If you can’t locate the exact payout rate listed before you enter your PIN,THINK, okay.

Chapter 4: Scams in Reality and by the Authorities

This isn’t just theory. This is an actual, living crime wave.

Recent Example: Lotte Department Store Physical Voucher Fraud 3.1.

This is one of the cruelest scams I have witnessed.

The Target: A senior citizen who was offered 500,000 KRW 롯데백화점 상품권 매입 (Lotte Department Store gift card purchase) on a forum by a “collector”. The rate was fantastic.

The Scam: It being a physical, gift card selling paper voucher meant the thief couldn’t access the PIN. Instead, he wrote, “Please send it to me by registered mail to this P.O. box no. As soon as I get it, I can wire the money.

The Result: The victim then dispatched the 500,000 KRW voucher to the reported address. The scam operator cashed it (or sold it to a service like mine) and was never heard from again. The P.O. box had been phony and untraceable.

What the Government Says: This Is a Crime

The Korean government is not being complacent about this. Gift Card Selling However the second too which is P2P 상품권 판매 to be a fraud prone area.

The Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) warns of these gift card selling scams frequently. Their main recommended step for any P2P transaction is to secure an independent escrow service. But with digital goods  like, say, a PIN for a gift card  an escrow service isn’t possible.

The Cyber Bureau) : This is Korea’s official task force to report cyber fraud. Below is how to report: Report could be made through app “CyberCop” or website www. police. go. kr). The police data is consistent in showing that gift card selling secondhand transaction fraud (which includes gift cards) is one of the more frequent cybercrimes in gift card selling in the country.

Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA): If you find a dangerous/dubious site, or if you are spammed/hacked, dial their hotline using 118.

When you do gift card selling to a random stranger on Karrot or Joonggonara, you’re forfeiting all of these protections. You are on your own.

My Expert Advice: The Transaction is Final in Seconds

An extra 5,000 KRW of profit that you may earn off a 95% offer isn’t worth losing the 100,000 KRW.

The only safe place to get involved in a 상품권 판매 gift card selling transaction would be through trading with a registered, vetted and professional business.

A legit partner for gift card selling (such as our company, and other good ones in this space) will:

• WILL NEVER require you to provide them with your PIN over a secure and encrypted HTTPS browser session.
  
• Do NOT request your PIN in a KakaoTalk or text message.
  
• NEVER hide our income rate from you before you pay.
  
• ALWAYS have a public Business Registration Number and actual customer support..
  
• NEVER directly request that you send us money, under any circumstances.
  
• ALWAYS demand ID verification to shield yourself, us, and the rest of the financial world.
  

I’m sharing this guide to explain the real good of gift card selling that my industry does. We provide value to people in their assets and we do this quickly, safely. To learn more the relationship about 소액결제 현금화 vs 정보이용료 현금화 차이 click it . But I’m sick of seeing scammers use the promise of our service to victimize people.

Be smart. Be safe. Verify before you transact. That is how you avoid scams in gift card selling.