Gwangju Fire Headquarters Warns of Fraudulent Goods Purchase Scams Impersonating Fire Headquarters

Gwangju Fire Headquarters 119 Integrated Situation Room.

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On April 24, the Gwangju Fire Safety Headquarters issued a warning, stating, "There has been a series of fraud cases involving scammers impersonating the Fire Headquarters to solicit purchases of goods," and urged the public to exercise particular caution.

In fact, on April 21, at a hardware store in Ulsan, a fraudulent company impersonating the 'Ulsan Fire Headquarters' requested the purchase of a ladder and, along with a forged official document, also demanded the proxy purchase of an emergency medical kit.

The company attempted to induce a proxy purchase by sending a 'Goods Payment Guarantee' disguised as an official document via text message, using card payment as bait. Fortunately, thanks to the swift response of the hardware store staff, no actual damage occurred, and the case was reported to the police for investigation.

In a similar incident on April 23, at a restaurant in Gwangju, a fraudulent company impersonating the 'Gwangju Fire Safety Headquarters' pre-ordered eel for a fire drill and, along with a forged official document, also requested the proxy purchase of an emergency medical kit.

The order requested by the company was for 20 kilograms of eel, amounting to approximately 1.44 million won. The restaurant staff, finding the request suspicious, directly verified the facts with the Geonguk 119 Safety Center at the Bukbu Fire Station, and as a result, no financial loss was incurred.

The Gwangju Fire Safety Headquarters warned that similar scams could occur within the region and called for heightened vigilance and awareness. Fire agencies do not request proxy purchases of goods from private companies or instruct purchases via text message. The headquarters also emphasized that any official documents or transaction requests from unclear sources must be verified with the relevant agency. If a similar case is identified or suspicious contact is received, it should be reported immediately to the police or the Fire Headquarters.

Kim Youngil, Head of the Fire Prevention Division at the Gwangju Fire Safety Headquarters, stated, "We will continue to monitor related cases and do our utmost to prevent fraud damage through cooperation with relevant local agencies to protect the safety of citizens."

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