TOKYO – Japan’s Nationalโฃ Consumers Affairs Center (NCAC) is warning consumers โabout โa surge in fraudulent and problematic cash-on-delivery (COD)โค orders, as reports of misrepresented โgoods andโ unordered purchases reach record highs.
Through March of this fiscalโค year, the NCACโ logged 14,013 complaints andโฃ requests for guidance related to COD issues – aโฃ record number. A significant 66% of these cases stemmed fromโข purchases initiated through online advertisements.
Theโ trend โคis accelerating, with 4,498โข cases โขalready reported to the center as โof โthe end of June, representing a โคroughlyโ threefold โคincrease compared โto the same period last year.
Recent incidents highlightโ the โrisks. In โApril, a woman in her 40s ordered what she believedโข were ยฅ30,000 genuine leather sneakers advertised at a โข50% discount โฃvia a social media ad. Upon delivery, she received artificial leather fakes. Separately,a man in his 50s ordered a golden lantern through a video streamingโค service advertisement,only โคto receive a black lantern. Attempts to contact โคthe listed product replacement center proved โขfutile, and the delivery company was โunableโข to provide sender information.
The NCAC attributes theโข difficulty in resolving these issuesโ to the complex network of businesses frequently enoughโ involved in CODโฃ transactions, hindering both product replacements and compensation claims.
Consumer โขadvocates recommend verifying seller contact information onโ websites and researchingโข products directly through manufacturers’ official sites before opting โfor โคCOD.”If you feel something fishy, even just a little bit, don’t order it,” cautioned an NCAC official.