Federation of Small and Medium Business: "'No-Show' Scams in the Era of One Million Closures Must Be Eradicated"

Impersonation of Military Units, Political Parties, and Celebrities Causes Widespread Damage
Both Police and Politicians Must Take Action for Complete Eradication

The Federation of Small and Medium Business strongly criticized organized and sophisticated 'no-show scams,' calling for a comprehensive government response and the establishment of a legal response system to eradicate these practices.

On June 17, the Federation issued a statement, saying, "No-show scams are rampant, targeting small business owners who are already facing an unprecedented crisis." The statement continued, "According to media reports, of the total 537 cases of no-show scams that occurred from February last year to March this year, 461 cases, or 85.8%, were concentrated in the four months from December last year."

Federation of Small and Medium Business Logo. Federation of Small and Medium Business

The Federation particularly emphasized that recent no-show scams go beyond simple reservation defaults and are spreading nationwide in an organized and sophisticated manner, causing financial damages amounting to several million won. The Federation explained, "Scammers impersonate credible organizations or individuals such as military units, city halls, journalists, political parties, celebrities, and public officials, pretending to place large orders and requesting proxy purchases. Once the business procures the goods, the scammers abruptly cut off contact."

The Federation lamented, "In an era when one million businesses are closing, reservations from dozens of people claiming credibility are requests that small business owners do not want to miss." The Federation added, "The problem is that these no-show scams are being carried out in an organized manner."

The Federation also stressed the urgent need for a comprehensive government response, including police action, as well as legal reinforcement from the political sector. The Federation urged, "The police should flexibly apply the Act on Compensation for Damage Caused by Telecommunications Fraud to no-show scams and work together nationwide to root out these scam organizations." The Federation also called on politicians to pursue legislative measures that can eradicate the damages suffered by small business owners.

Finally, the Federation added, "We will continue our private-sector efforts, including campaigns to raise awareness about small business issues, in order to eradicate not only no-show scams but also malicious reservation defaults, damages from malicious review comments, and illegal advertising that harm the livelihoods of small business owners."