The Full Story Behind the "Used iPhone Group Purchase Scam"… The Reality of Online Marketing on Social Media [Tracking 60 Minutes]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

"Tracking 60 Minutes" uncovers the behind-the-scenes reality of social media marketing.

In an episode of KBS 2TV's "Tracking 60 Minutes" airing on the 23rd, the program investigated the state of online marketing hidden behind the numbers.

◆ Marketing that exploits influencer influence and follower trust

Ju Ga-young (pseudonym) decided to purchase a used iPhone after photos taken with older models became a trend. While looking for products on Instagram, she came across an influencer who had conducted multiple group purchases. Seeing the influencer actively communicate with followers, Ju trusted him and made a payment when the sixth group purchase began. However, while waiting for delivery, she discovered a comment from someone who had participated in the fifth group purchase but still had not received their product. When the item did not arrive after some time passed, Ju also protested, but neither a refund nor product delivery was carried out. Ultimately, she was blocked from the influencer's account as well.

The production team sought out the influencer who conducted the group purchase in question. Influencer Kim Min-a (pseudonym) stated that there was nothing she could do other than send messages to the selling company to protest. There were other influencers who had also conducted used phone group purchases with the same company. Sales through these individuals reached tens of millions of won each. It was revealed that the company selling the used phones had previously caused many victims in a similar manner.

◆ The behind-the-scenes reality of easily manipulated social media marketing

On social media, view counts are essentially report cards. This is because higher view counts increase the likelihood of translating into actual sales. Self-employed individuals running restaurants are also using influencer accounts to promote their businesses. However, not all advertisers achieved the effects they had expected. Yang Seo-won (pseudonym), who runs a restaurant, contracted with an online marketing agency and posted promotional videos on approximately 20 accounts. However, she began to suspect the agency after noticing that the view counts of the videos uploaded to each account were similar, and that there were almost no comments relative to the view counts. To verify whether manipulation was actually taking place, she requested "Insights" data, which provides detailed video information, from the agency, but the agency did not properly provide the materials. The agency maintained that manipulation is structurally impossible on Instagram.

However, upon direct verification by the production team, it was found that companies exist that will increase various social media metrics such as view counts, "likes," and comments to any desired amount for a fee. Social media metric selling companies explained that for a certain cost, numbers can be quickly boosted and top exposure can even be targeted.

◆ From fake reviews to penalty fee businesses: The true face of online marketing

There is also so-called "empty box part-time work," where individuals pay for a product, receive an empty box instead of the actual item, and write a review. This method involves leaving a record in the system as if the purchase and delivery were completed normally, while actually writing a review for a product that was never used. Kim Jun-su (pseudonym), a former employee of an online marketing agency, testified that there were cases where they colluded with delivery companies or courier drivers to process orders as if actual delivery had taken place, in order to even reduce the costs associated with shipping empty boxes.

In addition to fake reviews, search rankings could also be manipulated. Various industries were utilizing methods that used automated programs to increase visit counts and exposure metrics to boost search rankings. Some companies would demand additional fees from advertisers if their ranking dropped, suggesting that view counts needed to be raised further. The problem is that there is a lack of objective evidence to verify what advertising work was actually carried out, leaving advertisers with no choice but to rely on the agency's explanations.

Oh Seong-geun signed an advertising contract with an online marketing agency. Contrary to the company's explanation that the service could be used for one year for 10,000 won per month, a payment of up to 2.28 million won was made at once. He requested cancellation after just one week of the contract, but the company responded that it was difficult to cancel because work had already begun. Oh, who even filed a lawsuit to prevent such damage from recurring, won his case in the first instance in 2025, but has still not received the refund amount two years later. This practice of making cancellations difficult or demanding excessive penalty fees to gain profit is known in the industry as "penalty fee business."

"Likes," reviews, and search rankings that determine consumer choices. "Tracking 60 Minutes" investigated how these numbers are created, and why consumers and advertisers who suffered damage in the process are not properly compensated.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original