A growing number of scams are targeting small business owners by impersonating officials of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) to push the purchase of sanitation equipment.
Ulju County in Ulsan issued a warning Thursday after fraud cases emerged in which scammers posed as MFDS officials to approach small merchants. The scheme exploits fears over regulatory changes to pressure businesses into buying sanitation equipment.
According to Ulju County, a fraudster recently impersonated an MFDS deputy director and sent forged official documents to local food service establishments, citing fabricated legal provisions on mandatory sanitation equipment and administrative penalties. After sending the documents, the scammers called the businesses directly and threatened that "a fine of up to 3 million won will be imposed if sanitation equipment is not installed under the revised law," urging them to purchase ATP meters (devices that measure sanitation contamination levels, temperature and humidity) and similar equipment.
Fortunately, one suspicious business owner contacted Ulju County's Resource and Sanitation Division to verify the claim, exposing the impersonation scheme. No additional financial damage occurred.
"Public agencies such as the MFDS and local governments never request the purchase of products from specific companies or ask for payments via phone or text messages," an Ulju County official said. "In particular, when an official document lists a personal mobile number as the contact for the person in charge or demands transfers to a specific account, it is highly likely to be an impersonation crime."
When receiving documents or calls from someone claiming to represent a government agency, recipients should immediately end the conversation with the suspected scammer and verify the facts by calling the main number of the local government or the National Police Agency directly, rather than the number listed on the document.
