![Coupang logo at the company's office in Songpa District, southern Seoul, on Dec. 1. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/12/04/4759c374-ac72-4009-ac64-4d75e304aedb.jpg)
Coupang logo at the company’s office in Songpa District, southern Seoul, on Dec. 1. [NEWS1]
Recently, a Coupang user reported unauthorized transactions amounting to 3 million won (approximately $2,040) on his credit card that was linked to his account with the e-commerce platform. This incident occurred just one day prior to Coupang notifying him about a data breach affecting his personal information.
The affected individual, who resides in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, shared with broadcaster YTN that he received a notification on Sunday detailing a charge he did not authorize. This notification arrived right before Coupang’s alert regarding the security incident, suggesting a possible correlation between the two events.
According to his account, the transaction details only mentioned a payment gateway, preventing him from identifying the exact nature of the purchase. Upon further investigation, he discovered that an initial attempt to charge 4.99 million won was made but failed due to the credit limit. Subsequently, the fraudster decreased the amount to 3 million won, which was successfully processed, followed by an attempt to charge an additional 1.5 million won.
This user also indicated that his other linked cards faced similar unauthorized attempts. When these efforts did not succeed, someone attempted to change his card PIN, heightening suspicions about the security surrounding his Coupang account and its recent breach, which the company claims began in June.
“I have been a Coupang user for years and have never experienced anything like this. The timing seems too coincidental,” he remarked, expressing concerns about the company’s security measures.
Coupang’s customer service personnel informed him that his payment information had not been compromised but did not provide any documentation to substantiate this assertion, according to YTN. After discovering the unauthorized charges, the man reported the incidents to local law enforcement. He also contacted the payment gateway, which validated that the charges were unauthorized and confirmed that other customers had reported similar occurrences.
Cybersecurity analysts suggest that the information potentially leaked from Coupang may have been aggregated with data from other breaches, facilitating the unauthorized transactions. This incident raises critical questions about data integrity and the necessity for e-commerce platforms to enhance their cybersecurity measures against such threats.
In understanding the broader context of these types of incidents, it’s important to analyze relevant adversary tactics as outlined by the MITRE ATT&CK framework. Initial access could have been gained through credential dumping or phishing, with persistence achieved via maintaining access to the compromised card information. The fraudulent activities can be seen as a manipulation of payment systems, showcasing the need for enhanced vigilance from both consumers and businesses in the realm of cybersecurity.
This article was originally composed in Korean and later translated by a bilingual reporter with assistance from AI tools, followed by editing from a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations undergo review and refinement by our newsroom.
BY SHIN HYE-YEON [[email protected]]
