[News Today] Scams impersonating fire officials

[LEAD]
Posing as fire officials, scammers are targeting small business owners across South Korea. They're either forcing them to buy fire safety equipment or asking them to make proxy purchases. Fire authorities have emphasized that officials never sell products directly.

[REPORT]
A man dressed in a fire official uniform walks into a beauty salon.

Taking out a safety manual, he warns that failure to receive a safety inspection can result in a business suspension.

When one customer, sensing him suspicious, asks for his ID, the man quickly flees.

Beauty salon customer /
He said he came for fire inspection. There was a similar incident 4-5 years ago, so I asked for his ID. He looked at me hesitantly and then ran.

This man posed as a firefighter and used the tactic to also scam nearby stores.

Some vendors were forced to buy a 20-thousand won, or 14-dollar, fire extinguisher for 50-thousand won, or over 35 dollars.

Nearby vendor / (VOICE MODIFIED)
I didn't buy the extinguisher but the person insisted I needed one.

In Cheonan, Chungcheongnamdo Province last Saturday, a proxy purchase scam involving fake business cards was also reported.

This year alone, over 60 cases of crimes impersonating fire officials were believed to have taken place nationwide.

Lee Jong-gi / Gyeongju Fire Station
Please be aware that fire departments never sell firefighting equipment.

In response, fire authorities have sent out letters to fire departments across the country alerting them of such crimes.