Similar "Impersonation Scams" Occur Repeatedly in Geochang
Victims in Changwon Targeted by Scammer Posing as Nam Jin's Agency Employee
Recently, a scam occurred in South Gyeongsang Province involving someone impersonating an employee of singer Nam Jin's agency. Now, another scam has taken place in which the perpetrator posed as a member of the production team for a film starring actor Kang Dongwon. As scams involving impersonation of celebrities are on the rise, increased vigilance is advised.
According to Geochang County on May 15, on May 12, a man called a restaurant in Geochang-eup, claiming to be part of the production team for a film featuring Kang Dongwon. After making a group reservation, the man persuaded the restaurant to purchase two bottles of wine, each worth 3 million won, from a specific company he designated, resulting in a total loss of 6 million won.
The man reportedly insisted on purchasing rare and expensive wine, promising to pay on site after the meal. Following his instructions, the restaurant owner paid 6 million won to the specified company. However, on the day of the reservation, the scammer did not appear and became unreachable. It is known that the scammer exploited the fact that Kang Dongwon graduated from high school in Geochang to carry out the fraud.
In Geochang, a total of three cases of similar "no-show" scams?where the person making a reservation fails to appear without canceling?have been reported so far this month. On May 8, at a barbecue restaurant in Changwon, someone pretended to organize an after-party for singer Nam Jin's concert, reserved 4.7 million won worth of alcohol, and then cut off contact after sending a final text message on the day of the event stating that the gathering was canceled due to unforeseen circumstances.
Geochang County has responded by sending text messages to local business owners to alert them about these scam tactics and by providing training to prevent further damage. A county official stated, "If someone requests a purchase on the pretext of a reservation, it is highly likely to be a scam. If you receive a similar call, please report it immediately to the county office or the police."
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