Cabbage scams arise amid skyrocketing cabbage prices

[Anchor]

Recently, the price of cabbage has risen to the point where it is being called 'golden cabbage,' causing great concern for kimchi manufacturing factories.

In response to this desperate situation, 'cabbage scam' has emerged targeting these companies.

Reporter K, Lee Soo-min has the story.

[Report]

Mr. A, who runs a kimchi manufacturing factory with his family, received a fax on Sept. 30.

The fax was from a man named Jeong, who claimed to be a representative of a forestry industry association, stating that he could sell cabbages lower than the market price.

Jeong introduced another man who could supply the cabbage, claiming to be a middleman.

[Mr. A : "(When I asked on the phone) they said it was run by the government, and when I searched online, I found some information about it."]

This man sent Mr. A a business registration certificate and photos of stacked cabbages...

Mr. A decided to sign a contract with him, hoping to save on material costs.

[Mr. A : "Here, it's 13,500 won per bundle, but the price in the market, it would be around 15,000 to 16,000 won? If it was absurdly cheap, I would have thought about it but it wasn't like that."]

The total amount Mr. A sent was 87 million won.

However, immediately after sending the money, Jeong, the man he was introduced to and the delivery driver all could not be reached.

[Mr. A : "(They said the cabbage) would arrive in the morning, but when it didn't come... (They gave me) the driver's number, but they were all in cahoots."]

It turned out that Jeong was impersonating a real association.

[B Association/voice altered : "It's definitely a voice phishing scam. (Is the person named Jeong○○ not a real person?) Yes."]

Mr. A reported it to the police immediately, but he feels hopeless about getting his money back.

[Mr. A : "We are running a business at a loss... They exploited our desperate situation to do this."]

This is KBS News Lee Soo-min.