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A mysterious invitation to join the game is sent to people at risk who are in dire need of money. 456 participants from all walks of life are locked into a secret location where they play games in order to win 45.6 billion won. Every game is a Korean traditional children’s game such as Red Light, Green Light, but the consequence of losing is death. Who will be the winner, and what is the purpose behind this game?

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During scenes featured in the first and second episodes, potential players are ordered to use a specific phone number to confirm their participation in the life-or-death competition. Turns out it is a real phone number.

Surely unbeknownst to writers and producers, one such numeric sequence indeed belonged to that of a South Korean woman, later revealed to be business owner Gil-Young Kim, in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province, according to SBS News.

Last week, she told Money Today that she had received thousands of calls and text messages to the number, up to 4,000 in one day, she claimed.

“I have been receiving endless calls and text messages,” she told one local outlet, according to a report by the Korean Herald. “I have been using this number for more than 10 years, so I am quite taken aback.”

“To the director of the show — please reach out to me. This is so upsetting,” she added, but producers allegedly told her to “change the number” instead.

Meanwhile, a representative of the show told StarNews, “Netflix and Cyron Pictures, the producer of ‘Squid Game,’ are aware of the problem and are working to solve it.”

According to Koreaboo, which translated a report by South Korean outlet Osen, those efforts have included the promise of compensation — first, offering 1 million South Korean won (KRW, about $847), then 5 million (about $4,240) when the first offer fell flat. Negotiations for restitution remain ongoing, according to multiple outlets.

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