Suwon City in Gyeonggi Province has issued a warning after a recent attempted crime in which someone impersonated a city official and tried to steal money by asking for proxy purchases.
According to Suwon City on May 12, Mr. A, who runs a computer sales business in Suwon, received a call on April 30 from Mr. B, who identified himself as a "Suwon City administrative officer." After discussing a quote for office supplies with Mr. A, Mr. B sent him a fake official document in the form of a "purchase commitment letter" allegedly issued by Suwon City. Mr. B then claimed that, due to an urgent situation in his department, he also needed to purchase a defibrillator, but was unable to contact the supplier he usually worked with. He also sent Mr. A the business card of the representative of this supplier.
Fortunately, Mr. A noticed something suspicious in the fake document sent by Mr. B and filed a complaint through the national civil complaint portal, Minwon Sinmungo, so he did not suffer any financial loss. Suwon City has requested a police investigation into the case.
This case is similar to a series of recent fraud crimes involving impersonation of government agencies.
In February, a scammer impersonating a soldier called a tent manufacturer in Hadong County, South Gyeongsang Province, and claimed that tents were needed for military activities. The scammer promised to pay for everything at once if the manufacturer would purchase combat rations on his behalf. He then provided a so-called "borrowed-name account" as the combat ration supplier's account and stole 9.6 million won.
An official from Suwon City stated, "Suwon City never conducts transactions by ordering goods through an official's personal mobile phone or by asking suppliers to pay on the city's behalf. If you receive such a request, please report it immediately to 112."
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