Beware of the Gunpo City Money Scam

[Gunpo_Erin]

Hi all


I currently work for Gunpo City.  I leave in 2 weeks and being scammed out of my city hall camp money(the sleep away camp in Daejeon) AND my Damage deposit money.


The school claims they cannot pay into an account that is not Korean.  Well I am cancelling my KB account on the 25th(my pay day) and I am vacating the country on the 26th.  So as a cautionary tale for those who are also leaving soon- make sure to get this money SOON!  As I am sure your school will also try to pull this stunt with you as well!

[gilbert.a.h]

Why not leave the account open and then transfer it to your account in your home country and ignore the account after doing so? It will automatically close after a set amount of time.

It is way better than losing everything. And no, it isn't a scam. If it is a government job, that is normal. I was told the same in Paju.

Sorry to hear about it though.

[Gunpo_Erin]

@gilbert.a.h   i wish it were an option but it's not.  Korean bank certificates do not work on Macs and where I live(Nicaragua) does not support the certificates either.  Either way I will loose 1500 dollars.  A bummer.  I actually gave notice when I wanted to do a runner.  I should have done a a runner. Lesson learned!

[Koreak]

Do you have a friend who you can trust.  Give them your bank card before you leave and have them send it to you. 

[Gunpo_Erin]

Nope! i wish! we are all PS teachers and everyone has had their funding cut and are in the same boat as me- EXCEPT their schools are actually paying them into their home country accounts!  I guess I will have take the hit and sluff it off as a lesson learned- you quit your job early to due to a family emergency, give the school MORE than 2 months notice and you still get screwed.  I am a tad upset BUT I must give up on the money as it is a lost cause.
 
Beware everyone!

[Koreak]

The school claims they cannot pay into an account that is not Korean.  Well I am cancelling my KB account on the 25th(my pay day) and I am vacating the country on the 26th. 

Will your school pay into your Korean bank account?  If so, then keep your bank account open and just give your friend the card to access your bank account, transfer the money to their account.  Then send it to Nicaragua at a later time.

[Gunpo_Erin]

thanks for the advice Koreak!  :)

[DWAEDGIMORIGUKBAP]

The school claims they cannot pay into an account that is not Korean.  Well I am cancelling my KB account on the 25th(my pay day) and I am vacating the country on the 26th. 

Will your school pay into your Korean bank account?  If so, then keep your bank account open and just give your friend the card to access your bank account, transfer the money to their account.  Then send it to Nicaragua at a later time.

This is one of many options, another being to get them to upgrade ou to an int atm card and then keep the acct open and withdraw the money from oveseas.

[Gunpo_Erin]

I agree getting paid into the korean account is ideal.  Any suggestions on how my friends, who have all left Korea, can transfer the money from my account in Korea from their home countries? 

[Koreak]

Come to think of it... I'm fairly certain that you would be able to arrange through your bank to send the money to your home account at a specific date after you leave, then the bank would automatically close the account.  I am pretty sure you can do it by yourself, but if you had a Korean friend go with you, it might be easier.  Most banks have at least one person who can speak a little bit of English if your Korean is a little rusty.

[Gunpo_Erin]

I never thought of that!  I will have to give it a try!  Fingers crossed!

Come to think of it... I'm fairly certain that you would be able to arrange through your bank to send the money to your home account at a specific date after you leave, then the bank would automatically close the account.  I am pretty sure you can do it by yourself, but if you had a Korean friend go with you, it might be easier.  Most banks have at least one person who can speak a little bit of English if your Korean is a little rusty.

[eggplant_tyrant]

Why don't you set up one of those "easy-one" transfer accounts with KEB that automatically transfers all of the deposited funds into an overseas bank account? Then you can just give that account information to your school and tell them to deposit the money there.

[DWAEDGIMORIGUKBAP]

KEB can also give you an international atm card...  takes about two weeks from appliation I believe or maybe shorter...