Frankstore Warns of Increasing Victims from Phishing Pages Imitating 'Fantrie'; Urges Consumer Caution

Frankstore Warns of Increasing Phishing Page Victims Imitating 'Fantrie'; Urges Consumer Vigilance

• Scam pages lure users with promises of additional photos and videos upon payment
• Circumvented payment processes hinder investigation efforts
• Reporting and shutting down these sites face practical limitations... "Stay alert"

Incidents of phishing sites impersonating platform services are on the rise. These fraudulent sites unlawfully use the names of specific services to deceive users into making cash or international card payments, thereby stealing money. Major portals like Naver and Google are also plagued by phishing sites, and subscription membership services like Patreon have become new targets. The domestic platform Fantrie, which hosts various creators, is similarly suffering from these phishing attacks.

 

On February 3rd, Frankstore Co., Ltd. (CEO: Seungjae Baek) announced that there has been an increase in the number of victims falling prey to phishing pages impersonating their service, 'Fantrie.' They urged consumers to exercise extreme caution. These fraudulent pages are hosted on overseas servers beyond the reach of domestic law and trick users into making credit card payments through fake pages disguised as Fantrie.

 

△ 팬트리 서비스와 일반인들의 사진을 도용한 사기 페이지 / 프랭크스토어 제공

 

 

These scam sites are swiftly created using free website services such as Wix. The criminal groups behind these pages operate from overseas locations, making them difficult to trace. They unlawfully use photos and personal information of online influencers or ordinary individuals, often obtained from social media platforms like Instagram, to create accounts. They then link these accounts to phishing page URLs. These phishing pages closely resemble legitimate service websites, mimicking logos and colors to deceive users.

△ Example of a scam phishing page imitating a legitimate service page / Provided by Frankstore

 

Phishing sites connected through such links often resemble the actual service, using stolen logos and business registration information. When users enter their credit card details and proceed with the payment, only the transaction occurs, and nothing else happens, resulting in a payment scam. These phishing sites frequently request sensitive information such as names, phone numbers, card numbers, passwords, and expiration dates, leading to data theft and potential secondary damage, posing a significant problem.

 

Frankstore stated, "With the rapid growth of the creator business market, scams impersonating major Asian services like Fantrie have increased. We take immediate action upon receiving reports and collaborate with cyber investigation units for monitoring, but there are practical limitations. It is crucial for users to exercise caution."