How to Report Crime or Scams in Korea: Foreigner-Friendly Police Help

Current scam patterns to recognize

Complaint volume from international visitors has been rising: South Korea's Tourist Complaint Center logged more complaints in the first seven months of 2026 than in all of 2025, with overcharging and unfriendly service among the most common categories. Patterns worth watching for:

• Overly friendly strangers approaching on the street to ask for directions or invite you to a "cultural survey," which can be an opening move for a longer-running scheme. Decline politely and keep moving if the conversation doesn't feel like ordinary small talk.
• K-pop concert or fan-event tickets sold by a private individual or an unofficial reseller rather than the event's own listed platform. Buy only through the official ticketing link named in the artist's or venue's own announcement.
• Overcharging or a refusal to itemize a bill at a tourist-focused restaurant or shop. Ask for a printed receipt before paying, and use the tourist police contact below if a merchant won't correct an error.

Tourist police: a channel most visitors don't know about

Korea's Tourist Police (관광경찰) is a police unit focused specifically on tourist-site safety, unqualified-guide enforcement, and mediating disputes such as overcharging or refund refusals between foreign visitors and merchants. Call 1330 (the Korea Tourism Organization's interpretation hotline) or ask for the nearest tourist police point — support is available in English, Chinese and Japanese. This is a separate, complaint-mediation-focused channel from the general 112 police line used for crime in progress.

Recognize the situation and choose the right channel

How to Report Crime or Scams in Korea: Foreigner-Friendly Police Help is designed as a practical response plan, not a substitute for police, medical, airline, immigration or financial professionals. The relevant service area is Police stations, tourist police points and 112 nationwide. Prepare passport details, timeline, receipts, screenshots, account numbers and witness information. If anyone is in immediate danger, move to a safer place and contact the appropriate emergency service before collecting perfect documentation. Give the exact address, a visible landmark, floor or platform, and a callback method.

Prepare before you need the service

Emergency reporting is continuous; desk and interpretation availability varies. Save official contacts and essential Korean addresses offline, because roaming, battery power or public Wi-Fi can fail at the worst moment. Move to safety, call 112 if urgent, and preserve location and transaction evidence. Keep a passport copy, insurance details, card issuer numbers and key reservations separately from the originals. A short written timeline with time, place, route, receipt and staff name is more useful than relying on memory after a stressful event.

Follow the safest step-by-step response

First, confirm what happened and prevent additional loss or exposure. Second, contact the operator or authority through an official website, app, counter or published phone number. Third, preserve screenshots, receipts, ticket numbers and photos without posting sensitive data publicly. Fourth, ask for a case, report or reference number and write down the next checkpoint. Reporting is generally free. Ask about interpretation before agreeing to a document you cannot read, and do not sign blank or incomplete forms.

Avoid common secondary problems

Do not confront a suspected scammer alone or delete chats after a refund promise. Treat unsolicited direct messages, payment links and remote-access requests as suspicious. Do not share one-time passwords, full card details or passport scans with an unverified account. When time-sensitive travel is affected, tell the airline, hotel or booking provider early and request written options. Current signs, official alerts and staff directions take priority over an older travel post.

Build a backup and close the case

Keep a second payment method, charging cable, small cash reserve and offline route. For health concerns, disclose allergies, medicines and relevant conditions; for financial or crime issues, monitor accounts after the immediate report. Before leaving a counter, repeat the agreed action, deadline and collection location. Later, retain documents for insurance or reimbursement and remove unnecessary sensitive files from shared devices. If the issue remains unresolved, use 1330 for travel guidance or interpretation, but use 112 or 119 for immediate police, fire or ambulance emergencies.