"College Student Claims 'No Fare'... Turns Out to Be a New Scam? Neighboring Shops Also Victimized"

"Beware of College Student Transportation Fare Scams" Spreads Online
Reports of Similar Scams Continue... "A Classic Method"

Cases of so-called "transportation fare scams," where individuals ask to borrow small amounts of money claiming they lack fare for transportation, are being reported through online communities, prompting calls for caution. After a small business owner running a snack bar shared a story about lending money out of goodwill and not getting it back, additional reports of similar incidents have continued to emerge.

Text messages exchanged between a man who borrowed money and the owner of a snack bar. BobaeDream

On January 20, a post titled "Beware of College Student Transportation Fare Scams" was uploaded to an online community. The poster, referred to as Mr. A, introduced himself as the owner of a snack bar in Guro, Seoul, and recounted an incident that occurred in December of last year.

According to Mr. A, while preparing to open the shop, a man approached and said, "I am a college student attending a provincial university, living with my grandmother in a nearby apartment, but I can't go to school because I don't have enough fare," and requested to borrow 16,700 won. The man explained, "I will definitely pay you back within two days," adding that he had no parents and his grandmother did not know how to transfer money via bank account.

Mr. A said, "He seemed desperate and didn't look like a bad person, so I only took his phone number and lent him 20,000 won," adding, "I asked him to transfer the money to my account two days later."

However, the money was not deposited by the promised date. The man kept postponing the repayment, repeatedly saying, "I'll send it soon," and, according to Mr. A, there was no further contact for over a month. Mr. A expressed his disappointment, saying, "I made the choice out of a desire to help, but it ended up like this, which leaves a bitter feeling."

Text messages exchanged between a man who borrowed money and the owner of a snack bar. BobaeDream

The text messages released together show the man making excuses, saying, "I'll send it by today," "I'll send it by 5 p.m. tomorrow," and "I would never not pay you back."

Mr. A later said, "When I threatened to report him unless he sent the money, he did get in touch," and added, "I also found out that other stores suffered similar damages using the same method. I am currently preparing to file a report."

As this story spread, other reports from people with similar experiences also surfaced. One informant said, "After seeing a post on BobaeDream about someone asking for exactly 16,700 won, I remembered a similar incident that happened to me in December of last year." He continued, "A man came to my store, said he lived next door and only had his grandmother, and I gave him 17,000 won."

Online commenters who read the story responded, "This is a classic scam method that has been around for decades," "They probably repeat it because they think people won't report such small amounts," and "Only punishment will put an end to these small-scale scams."