Ansan City Urges Caution Against Food Hygiene Equipment Purchase Scams Impersonating Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and Local Officials

Ansan City, Gyeonggi Province, announced on the 14th that it has urged food-related business operators in the city to exercise extra caution following recent cases of fraud. These cases involved impersonators of officials from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and local governments, who distributed forged official documents and attempted to induce purchases of items related to food hygiene.

Ansan City Hall view. Provided by Ansan City

Recently, it was confirmed that an individual impersonating a government official approached a local instant food manufacturing business, presenting a fake business card and a forged document purportedly from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. The impersonators falsely claimed that, due to the 'revision of the Food Sanitation Act,' it was mandatory to possess certain food hygiene equipment, such as ATP meters and temperature and humidity meters, thereby inducing the purchase of specific devices.

Ansan City emphasized that administrative agencies never force the purchase of particular goods or demand payments via phone calls or text messages under any circumstances.

The city also explained that there is a high likelihood of fraud in cases where: ▲ a specific company is designated for purchases, ▲ a personal mobile phone number is listed on official documents, or ▲ payment or contract is requested over the phone under the pretext of hygiene inspection.

Lee Sunhee, Director of Culture, Sports and Tourism at Ansan City, stated, "If you receive a suspicious contact, please first verify the facts with the relevant department through the Ansan City Civil Complaint Call Center. If you suspect any damage, we ask that you report it to the police immediately."

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