A warning has been issued regarding impersonation scams in the entertainment industry. The methods are quite similar.
Last month, Mystic Story, the agency of Yoon Jong-shin, noted, "We have confirmed cases where individuals have attempted to impersonate our staff to make venue reservations and order expensive food and items." They clarified that the impersonator forged documents to attempt to reserve restaurants and order high-priced food and items for events related to Yoon Jong-shin's national tour.
In response, Mystic Story stated, "We do not conduct venue reservations over the phone or request any expensive items through official documents," and urged, "If you encounter similar impersonation cases, please immediately stop that request and exercise caution to prevent any damage from occurring."
However, on the 6th, the side of Song Ga-in also warned of cases of similar scams. The agency stated, "Recently, there has been an occurrence of scams in which individuals impersonate our staff to defraud money, known as 'proxy purchase' scams. They pose as Song Ga-in's manager to approach small business owners under the pretext of gatherings, and they demanded that the owner prepare a purchase of wine from one company, claiming they would settle the bill during the gathering."
A representative stated, "Our employees never ask for money or items from outside under any circumstances. If you receive similar requests, the likelihood of them being criminal is high, so please do not transfer money or respond to them. Be sure to verify whether the person is really one of our employees, and if you suffer any damage, please report it to the police immediately."
"Rising star" Byun Woo-seok is also facing similar issues. His agency, Baro Entertainment, introduced the no-show scam method mentioned in the earlier cases, stating, "All such requests are illegal activities. We are deeply aware of the seriousness of this matter and will do our best to take legal action against such activities."
What is even more shocking is that shortly thereafter, the agencies of Namgoong-min and Ha Jung-woo also issued similar announcements. They too emphasized that victims had occurred due to scammers impersonating agency staff using the no-show method, stating, "If you receive similar requests, please do not transfer money or respond, and report to the police immediately if any damage occurs."
This method was also covered in the MBC program 'Real Story Investigation' aired in February. The scammer at that time built trust by sending various military official documents and used the ruse of purchasing items from restaurants, hardware stores, flower shops, and safety equipment stores to ask for payment of costs for fruit, combat rations, and wine.
It appears that these scammers have also entered the entertainment industry. Each agency has repeatedly urged caution to prevent any further damage.
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