YouTube under fire as overseas shopping scam ads surge

A cheap online purchase can become an expensive lesson, with Seoul officials warning that complaints tied to overseas shopping sites promoted through YouTube ads surged sharply in the first half of 2026. The Seoul Electronic Commerce Center and Korea Consumer Agency received 359 related consumer complaints so far this year, reaching 142 in June, about 4.6 times the 31 recorded in January. The most common complaints, accounting for 24 percent of cases, involved misleading or exaggerated advertising and refusals to provide refunds or honor cancellation requests. Another 21.7 percent involved sellers who became unreachable, while delivery problems accounted for 13.4 percent and excessive return charges for 11.4 percent. In one case, a consumer ordered fleece-lined winter pants after seeing a YouTube advertisement but received a thin pair more suitable for summer, according to Seoul officials. Clothing and fashion goods accounted for 63.2 percent of all complaints, followed by furniture, household and kitchen goods at 11.1 percent and health and hygiene products at 10.6 percent. The average re