"Impersonation of Public Institutions on the Rise...
Verification Is Essential"
A major financial loss has occurred in Jecheon, North Chungcheong Province, due to a scam involving impersonation of a city hall official.
According to Jecheon City on May 9, Mr. A, who runs a distribution business in the area, received a phone call on May 7 from a man claiming to be a Jecheon City Hall official. The caller said, "I will give you the model name of a procurement item. Please find it and supply it." The man also sent Mr. A a photo of a purchase commitment letter bearing the seal of the Jecheon mayor via text message and email.
Mr. A, who had previously supplied goods to government offices, found the name of a civil servant from a department he had worked with before on the official document, which made him believe it was legitimate. When he searched for the 'model name' provided by the man on the internet, the only result was a specific company's website.
To purchase the item, Mr. A called the phone number listed on the company's website and transferred the payment to the account provided by a company representative. However, after that, all contact was lost and the website disappeared as well.
Mr. A reported the incident to the police and informed the city hall of the loss. The total amount of damage is 2.5 billion won.
The city urged caution through its official KakaoTalk channel, stating, "Recently, voice phishing scams impersonating public institutions have been rampant," and requested, "If you receive a suspicious call, please hang up immediately and report or verify it with the police or Jecheon City Hall."
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