Amid a nationwide surge in “no-show” scams, recently there has been a rise in such scams exploiting the election period.
On the 20th, the Jeju Provincial Police Agency announced that as of that morning, they had received 11 reports of no-show scams. Among them, six cases involved scammers impersonating political party officials, with two cases resulting in actual financial loss.
One example occurred on the 18th when a phone call was made to a pension in Seogwipo City from someone impersonating a party official.
The impersonator attempted to book accommodations for 30 people for two nights starting the 19th, claiming it was for an election campaign in the Jeju area, and requested that the pension owner arrange and pre-purchase meal boxes for the campaign members.
The pension owner transferred 4 million won for the meal boxes, only to find out it was a no-show scam.
On the 17th, a scammer introduced themselves as the public relations director of the Democratic Party and called a restaurant in Jeju City to reserve meals for 20 Democratic Party officials.
The impersonator requested the restaurant purchase four bottles of whiskey from a supplier they knew and promised to pay for it along with the meal costs. A sum of 6.6 million won was transferred to a fake account.
Previously, on the 22nd of last month, a no-show scam occurred when a scammer identified themselves as Park Min-ho, an officer in the purchasing department at Jeju Prison, and ordered pork worth approximately 32 million won.
The scammer claimed there were issues with the existing meat distribution company, preventing direct transactions, and asked a livestock company representative to purchase the pork on their behalf.
The representative ordered and advanced payment for the pork as agreed, but then lost contact with the scammer.
Due to repeated impersonation of Officer Park, the Jeju Prison released a press statement warning against scams involving impersonation of correctional officers.
To prevent further spread of such scams, the Jeju Provincial Police Agency has sent cooperation letters to the Jeju branches of the food service and lodging industries, advising them on preventive measures against no-show scams.
Moreover, during the election period, the Election Crime Investigation Center, which becomes operational, will monitor no-show incidents in real-time for swift response.