The National Fire Agency urged caution, saying that scams have surged in which perpetrators pose as firefighters or fire agencies to force the purchase of fire extinguishers under the pretext of fire inspections and fines, or to induce proxy purchases with forged official documents.
According to the National Fire Agency on the 22nd, there were a total of 1,309 attempted crimes impersonating fire agencies over the past year (Mar. 2025–Mar. 2026). Among them, 161 companies actually suffered financial damage, and the cumulative loss was estimated at about 2.95 billion won.
The National Fire Agency said coercive "extortion-like forced sales" have increased. In recent impersonation cases, the fraud ring claims to be a fire station executive and calls gas stations or factories, threatening, "A fire inspection is scheduled, and if lithium-ion extinguishers are not provided, hefty fines will be imposed." They then send fake guidance texts to steer victims to buy products from a specific company and siphon off the money.
Also rampant is the so-called "no-show scam," in which forged official documents using a fire station's name are sent to hardware stores to request proxy purchases of fire supplies such as first-aid kits or ladders, after which the perpetrators pocket the payment and vanish.
The National Fire Agency stressed that under no circumstances do fire agencies recommend or broker the purchase of specific companies' fire supplies at business sites, nor do they induce proxy purchases of private companies' goods.
An official at the National Fire Agency said, "It is 100% a scam if someone mentions a fire inspection or fines and forces you to buy goods or asks for a proxy purchase," and added, "If you receive such suspicious calls or texts, hang up immediately and report it to 119 or 112 to prevent damage."