Koreans in their 20s accounted for the largest share of both online scam victims and offenders. (image: Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, Sept. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of online scams surrounding the transactions of used products and gaming items has increased sharply over the past five years.
According to the data from the National Police Agency, disclosed by Rep. Oh Young-hwan of the Democratic Party, the number of online scams shot up to 174,000 cases in 2020 from about 100,000 cases in 2016, registering a growth rate of 73 percent during the period.
Koreans in their 20s accounted for the largest share of both online scam victims and offenders.
The number of suspects for 610,000 online scam cases totaled 163,000, with those in their 20s accounting for 84,000, followed by teenagers (36,000).
The situation was the same for online scam victims. Among 695,000 victims, those in their 20s accounted for the largest share at 257,000, followed by those in their 30s (192,000).
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
