"Highly Recommended, the Meat Is So Tender!"... Conscience Sold for 1,000 Won, Consumers Deceived

"I booked this for an anniversary, and I am very satisfied." "They examined the affected area thoroughly, and the treatment went well." These reviews for restaurants and hospitals posted on portal sites were all fabricated and false.

The Busan Metropolitan Police Agency has apprehended 24 individuals, including the heads of advertising agencies, on charges of writing fake positive reviews using stolen accounts purchased via Telegram to boost search rankings on portal sites.

They are accused of writing approximately 28,000 fake reviews on internet platforms such as Naver from 2020 to this year, pocketing 1.9 billion won from advertisers.

Police investigations revealed that advertisers requested the fake reviews by sending receipts left behind by actual customers to the advertising agencies.

In the case of accommodations, the advertiser would lower the price for a one-night stay to 1,000 won, allowing the agency to make the payment and then write a fake review.

[Interview] Lee Kyung-min / Chief of Cyber Investigation Unit, Busan Metropolitan Police Agency: "They would set the price very low, from 1,000 won to a minimum of 5,000 won, and then make a reservation. After the reservation was made, they would change the price back to the normal rate."

One of the individuals involved even wrote 3,600 reviews in a single month.

A software company was also involved in this criminal activity, having developed and provided the advertising agencies with IP-masking programs to bypass portal security systems, as well as various macro programs.

The police determined that they generated approximately 1.9 billion won in criminal proceeds through these methods.

The police have arrested and referred a man in his 30s, who was the actual operator of the advertising agency, to the prosecution and have taken measures to preserve 1.785 billion won of the criminal proceeds before indictment.

Paying 1,000 Won to Write "Very Satisfied with the Accommodation"... 28,000 Fake Reviews Deceive Everyone (July 20, 2026, D-Report)

Reported by Kim Soo-yoon | Written by Bae Jun-hwi | Video by Jung Kyung-moon | Video Editing by Lee Hong-myung | Footage courtesy of Busan Metropolitan Police Agency | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.