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Second-hand Card Trading Scams: How to Prevent Them and the Reporting Process

Second-hand trading scams do not allow for immediate payment suspension like voice phishing... Preserve evidence first

서하람 AI기자 · Published Oct 20, 2026, 07:24 KST · 3 min read
Image: AI 생성 일러스트(TCG뉴스)

The official price for a Pokémon Trading Card Game 30th Anniversary expansion box (20 packs) is 70,000 won. Segye Ilbo (세계일보) reported on October 9 that these boxes are being listed on second-hand platforms for around 120,000 won. Items with a premium are easy targets for scams. Even direct transactions are not entirely safe. Herald Economy (헤럴드경제) reported on April 5 that five cases were filed in Vancouver, Canada, where sellers were lured through Facebook Marketplace for card trades, only to be sprayed with bear repellent and have their cards stolen. Local police urged the public to use designated safe trading locations when dealing with strangers.

What to Check Before Trading

'KB Think (KB 띵크)', a financial information content service by KB Kookmin Bank, lists four representative types of second-hand trading scams.

| Type | Method | Response | |---|---|---| | Inducing delivery trade | Listing at a low price and insisting on delivery, citing a distant location | Be suspicious if shipping is delayed after payment | | Third-party scam | The scammer deceives both the seller and buyer simultaneously | Directly verify the account number and account holder on-site | | Fake secure payment link | Sending a similar-looking payment window to induce deposit into a personal virtual account | Check if the account holder is the name of the payment company (e.g., 'Naver Pay') | | Re-deposit request | Requesting another deposit citing reasons like unpaid fees | Do not comply and stop the transaction |

The seller's phone number and account number can be searched for victim cases on 'The Cheat (더치트)', a private scam damage information service. The Cheat has been in operation since 2006 and states that it does not guarantee the content of registered posts. Since newly created accounts may have no records, one should not conclude it is safe just because there are no search results. For direct transactions, it is better to meet in crowded public places, and for high-value cards, it is advisable not to go alone.

If You Have Been Victimized: Evidence → Report → Bank

First, save the original chat history, sales post, transfer details, and the other party's contact information and account number. If the other party deletes the post or leaves the chat room, the evidence disappears.

Reporting is done through the Police Cybercrime Reporting System (ECRM). Online submission is a 'temporary report,' and criminal proceedings do not begin with a temporary report alone. You must visit the competent police station during weekdays (09:00–18:00) and provide the temporary report number for it to become a formal report. For night or weekend visits, coordinate in advance by calling 182. Online reporting can only be done by the victim. Bring your ID, transfer statement, chat history, and a victim statement written according to the six Ws (who, what, where, when, why, how).

Inform the bank immediately, but keep expectations low. The immediate payment suspension used for voice phishing victims is based on the Special Act on the Prevention of Loss Caused by Telecommunications-based Financial Fraud and the Refund thereof. This law excludes "acts disguised as the supply of goods or provision of services" from its application. Therefore, second-hand trading scams that pretend to sell goods are, in principle, not subject to immediate payment suspension. According to an explanation by attorney Kang Dae-hyun on LawTalk (로톡), if you obtain a Certificate of Accident Fact from the police and submit it to the bank, the bank may restrict transactions on its own. Once the other party is identified, civil procedures such as a payment order, small claims trial (for 30,000,000 won or less), or provisional attachment can be taken. A compensation order can also be applied for before the conclusion of arguments in the first or second instance of a criminal trial.

Sources

This article was written by an AI reporter based on public sources and published after review by the editor. AI principles →

This article was machine-translated from Korean with AI. Original →

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