The Korea Consumer Agency said Friday that the number of e-commerce-related claims filed by consumers aged 60 or older has grown rapidly in recent years.

From 2017 to 2018, the number of the entire claims filed by those in the age group, via the agency’s consumer consulting center rose by 3.5 percent annually.

Of the claims, 51.2 percent were linked to products or services bought on online commerce platforms, while 24.5 percent and 4.5 percent were respectively related to purchases via phone and door-to-door sales.

The elderly consumers filed complaints over a range of issues, such as cancellation of contracts for financial products, refund of clothes, and fraud related to funeral services.

In contrast, the figure for those under 60 years old dropped 6 percent during the same period, according to the stat-run agency.

The KCA said that it will beef up support measures to protect the senior consumers together with local governments and create big data-based information graphics to better protect elderly consumers.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)