[Friday Story] The Return of Camping Season 'Fraud Alert'... The Dark Hands Targeting Shortages

Increased Camping Demand Due to COVID-19 Leads to Surge in Scams
Impersonating Admins in Communities to Receive Payments and Disappear
Industry Struggles... Must Verify Before Making Payments

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] "I just wanted to go camping with my family once...".

Office worker Kim Jeong-in (38, pseudonym) recently had a bad experience trying to buy a family-type tent from company N, which is said to be impossible to purchase even with money. After searching for the product, Kim finally placed a reservation wait through an online cafe of a camping goods store. However, he was told there was no plan to restock and he would have to wait at least six months.

While waiting indefinitely, someone who appeared to be an administrator of the cafe contacted Kim to ask if he still wanted to purchase. They said that stock had been allocated and reservations were being accepted in order of payment. Kim immediately paid the deposit. Since the person used an ID similar to the administrator’s and knew about the reservation, he did not suspect anything. However, the other party took the money and disappeared. Kim only realized he had been scammed after inquiring with another administrator.

As camping season approaches and more people seek camping gear and campsites, scams targeting this demand are on the rise. Popular brands’ tents and camping equipment are so scarce that even waiting months does not guarantee availability. Buyers must either win a lottery or pay a premium to purchase. With increased camping demand due to COVID-19, booking popular campsites on weekends has become nearly impossible. Among campers, a joke has even emerged that “three generations of good deeds are needed to reserve a campsite.”

Camping-related company announcement. Photo by Online Community Capture

The scam methods involve impersonating administrators to approach members looking for gear, then claiming the product has arrived and demanding payment, or urging quick payment by saying only one campsite spot remains. Since sales of gear and campsite reservations mainly occur in online communities, such situations happen frequently. Scammers often use so-called “ghost accounts” or fake bank accounts, making recovery difficult even if victims report the fraud.

Camping goods companies and campsites are also struggling. A nationwide chain camping goods store recently issued a notice warning about these types of scams. Victims are increasing due to sophisticated tactics such as impersonating administrators after joining cafes and even creating channels by impersonating official company accounts. Other companies and campsites also issue notices to inform about scam methods, but it is impossible to verify every member who joins the cafes, and the tactics become more elaborate daily, making complete prevention difficult.

A representative from a camping goods company said, "Since hard-to-get equipment often costs tens of thousands to millions of won, scammers aiming for a ‘big score’ target these items. If someone contacts you first via online chat or messages asking about purchase intentions, you should be suspicious and always verify by calling the company directly," he advised.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.