Hanam City Warns of Public Official Impersonation Scams... Surge in Forged Business Cards and Fake Official Documents

Hanam City in Gyeonggi Province has recently urged small and medium-sized businesses, small business owners, and citizens within the city to exercise particular caution following a series of crimes involving impersonation of public officials.

Hanam City Advises Caution Against Impersonation of Public Officials. Provided by Hanam City

According to Hanam City on July 29, a total of 11 cases of impersonating public officials have been confirmed so far.

The impersonators use forged business cards and fake official documents to induce advance or proxy payments for goods. In particular, they present a "fake expenditure approval form" that closely mimics internal document formats, making it difficult for ordinary businesses to distinguish between genuine and fraudulent requests.

The types of cases have also been diverse. They range from simple approaches disguised as office supply deliveries to requests that are disguised as actual projects, such as "sports equipment (golf clubs) for senior welfare golf classes" or "window replacement construction at Hanam City Hall."

Recently, there have also been confirmed cases of "no-show" damages, where the impersonators use forged business cards to make reservations at local restaurants under the name of a public official and then fail to show up without any notice.

Hanam City explained that most of these cases were identified because the businesses became suspicious and called the city hall to verify the requests.

A city official stated, "Public officials never enter into direct contracts with private businesses or request advance payments for goods under any circumstances," and emphasized, "Even if the business card, document, or job title appears genuine, any request for delivery or financial transaction that does not follow the official procedures must be verified with the relevant department. If necessary, please report it to the police immediately."

Meanwhile, Hanam City plans to actively inform local businesses and related organizations about these issues and will continue to strengthen public awareness campaigns to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.