F&B business owners lose $42k to scammers who posed as Grab and Deliveroo staff, stole their earnings
The police have issued an advisory warning food and beverage (F&B) businesses about a new scam variant involving the impersonation of food delivery platforms.
At least four cases have been reported since Aug, with total losses amounting to at least $42,000.
Scammers would call F&B outlets while pretending to be representatives from food delivery platforms, claiming there were system upgrades or connection issues with point-of-sale terminals.
They would then ask victims to provide personal details such as email addresses, mobile numbers, platform login passwords or one-time passwords (OTPs).
In one case, a victim was even asked to send a photograph of his NRIC over WhatsApp.
With the phished information, scammers accessed victims' accounts and maliciously updated bank details, added spoofed email addresses and changed notification settings.
This allowed them to divert earnings to their own bank or payment service provider accounts. Many victims only discovered the diversion after checking with the platforms.
The police reminded the public never to disclose personal information or photos of identification documents to unknown individuals. Members of the public are also urged to adopt the "ACT" precautions:
ADD – Install the ScamShield app and enable security features on email accounts.
CHECK – Verify suspicious claims through official sources and check with food delivery platforms directly if told to perform system upgrades
.TELL – Report scams to authorities and alert family and friends.
Anyone with information on such crimes can call the Police Hotline at 1800-255-0000 or submit a report at www.police.gov.sg/i-witness. For urgent assistance, dial 999.
