Grab driver tells scammer to 'kiss my ass' after being offered $80 to buy items from 7-Eleven
A Grab driver said alarm bells rang when a passenger asked him to buy items from 7-Eleven and promised to pay him back in cash with an extra $80.
The Stomper said the incident happened on Dec 10 at around 9pm while he was driving near Bugis.
He had accepted a booking from Arab Street 7-Eleven to Hotel Boss when the passenger contacted him, asking if he had seen a message.
"When I checked, the message asked me to urgently buy two items from 7-Eleven and bring them to the hotel," the Stomper said.
"He said he would reimburse me and pay an extra $80 in cash."
Suspecting it was a scam, the driver said several red flags stood out to him, including the request for cash payment and the fact that the hotel already had a convenience store.
"What is it that Arab Street's 7-Eleven has that is so amazing for a foreigner?" he asked. "Top-up credit?"
As the pick-up point was less than a minute away, the driver said he briefly stopped outside the 7-Eleven before replying to the passenger with the words: "Kiss my ass."
He then cancelled the booking immediately.
The driver later reported the incident to the police and Grab, but was surprised to receive a reminder for using inappropriate language.
"I agree PHV drivers need to be professional, especially to give tourists a good impression of Singapore," he said. "But when it comes to scammers, I don't think professionalism should apply. Otherwise, we will be deemed as pushovers."
He added that he had heard of other PHV drivers encountering similar situations and wanted to share his experience to warn fellow drivers to stay alert.
In response to a Stomp query, Grab said it takes incidents involving scams on its platform very seriously.
"We have measures in place to support and protect our partners, including educating them on common scam tactics and taking firm action against bad actors," a Grab spokesperson said.
"In this case, the customer involved has been banned from our platform.
"We have also addressed the driver-partner's use of inappropriate language on GrabChat and reminded them of our expectations for respectful communication on the platform.
"We will continue to strengthen our safeguards and education efforts to help our partners stay vigilant and safe."
Stomp understands that a scam tactic involving asking drivers to purchase gift cards or game cards and run errands is not new and that Grab has been actively trying to combat this through regular education via in-app messages and social media.
It has banned over 900 scam accounts since the beginning of the year.
Grab partners are advised to stay vigilant, especially against requests to purchase items with the promise of later reimbursement, and to report suspicious encounters through the in-app Help Centre so its teams can investigate and take appropriate action immediately.
