AmorePacific hit for Aritaum's identity theft

By Park Jae-hyuk

AmorePacific has drawn criticism from consumers since its Aritaum multi-brand store was found to have illegally used a customer's name to make profits, according to industry officials, Friday.

The customer claimed Dec. 11 that an Aritaum franchisee bought cosmetics products for lower prices with her personal information, to resell them in China.

“I visited Aritaum's website as it sent me a text message urging me to get my birthday freebies as soon as possible,” the customer wrote online. “After logging in on the website, I discovered an Aritaum store had joined Smart Club with my personal information and resold cosmetics products in China at a profit, after buying them for lower prices with my Smart Club card from June 8 to Nov. 15.”

The franchisee was found to have purchased cosmetics products worth 1.5 million won ($1,329) with the customer's card and resold them in China at their original prices.

“The store's manager confessed to the identity theft, citing the maximum limit for discounts as the reason for the illegal act,” the customer said.

The Personal Information Protection Act bans individuals and businesses from using personal information other people offered to them, if the purpose of its use differs from the initial purpose. The law also prohibits them from giving other people's personal information to a third party.

After the revelation, AmorePacific admitted the customer's claim was true.

According to the cosmetics giant, a manager at the Aritaum store personally apologized to the customer.

The company promised to take a measure against the store in accordance with its internal regulations, saying it will tighten its internal regulations and carry out stricter training programs to prevent the recurrence of identity theft.

However, the customer said the company's measure was unsatisfactory.

“The company said it would give me a certain amount of cosmetics products, but I answered I would not use Aritaum's products. Then, it tried to offer me 100,000 won,” the customer said in another post uploaded Thursday.

The Aritaum store's franchisee was also reported to have attempted to pay off the victim with 200,000 won.

“I wanted a sincere apology, but they seem to regard the matter as nothing,” the customer added.

After reading her story, several more Aritaum customers have begun claiming they suffered similar damages.

“When I made my purchase at an Aritaum store last week, the store's employees recommended me to join Smile Club, saying they would pay for the annual fee for membership,” another customer wrote online. “They bought products for 10 percent lower prices with my name. After I complained to the store, they allowed me to withdraw from Smile Club, but did not apologize.”

According to industry officials, identity theft for trading to make illegal profits has been rampant in not only cosmetics shops, but also in apparel stores, because most customers are not aware of the risks attached to “freebies” and discounts offered to them.