Impersonating Firefighters, "No Show" Eel Orders at Three Eel Restaurants

One Restaurant Suffered a Loss of 500,000 Won

There have been a series of so-called "no show" incidents in which individuals impersonated firefighters, made reservations for eel packages worth hundreds of thousands of won, and then cut off contact.

According to the Jeonbuk Provincial Fire Department on April 24, phone calls impersonating fire officials were made the previous day to three eel specialty restaurants?two in Gochang and one in Gimje.

It has not been confirmed whether it was the same individual, but the callers placed similar orders at all three restaurants, saying, "We will take out eel to eat after new firefighter training." They also sent forged firefighter identification cards and payment guarantee documents to the restaurant owners via text message. Afterward, they additionally requested, "The fire department is in a difficult financial situation, so please purchase the goods on our behalf."

One restaurant prepared 7 kilograms of eel worth 500,000 won, but suffered losses as no one came to pick up the order. The other two restaurants sensed something suspicious and contacted their local fire stations, so they did not actually incur any losses.

An official from the provincial fire department stated, "The fire department never sends official documents or requests for purchases or advance payments via text message," and urged, "If you encounter a similar situation, please check the facts by referring to the phone number listed on the local fire station's website and report the incident."