Cosmetics Saleswoman Detained for Defrauding 13 Billion Won by Asking to Borrow Credit Cards

A cosmetics saleswoman has been detained on charges of stealing a whopping 13.1 billion won by deceiving customers, promising to repay principal and interest if they lent her their credit cards. The Jeonju Deokjin Police Station in North Jeolla Province is booking and investigating A, a door-to-door cosmetics saleswoman in her 40s, on charges of fraud. A is suspected of defrauding approximately 13.1 billion won by tricking customers into lending her credit cards with the promise of returning the principal and interest.

Police investigations revealed that A, operating as a sole proprietor, conducted fraudulent card payments without actually selling cosmetics. She then converted points—received as commissions from the payment processing company—into cash and returned them to customers as interest. In the early stages of the crime, she normally paid the card charges and the promised interest. However, as the scale of transactions continued to grow, she became unable to cover the costs, causing the flow of funds to dry up.

The case came to light as victims filed complaints with the police one after another. To date, about 50 victims have been identified, with four of them suffering losses amounting to 1 billion won each. After the case became known, A visited the police station around the 18th of last month to turn herself in.