Scams nowadays can come in all shapes and sizes.

And here's yet another one.

Allegedly doing patchworks

On March 23, a cautionary tale about a possible conman on the loose in Toa Payoh Central was shared on Facebook by Isninhan Low.

According to the 72-year-old, a man who claimed to be a Housing and Development Board-approved contractor came by his house and said that his team will be doing patchworks on old ceilings the following day.

This patchwork, however, requires the homeowner to pay a cash deposit of S$100 upfront and a further S$200 on the day the work gets done.

Waved identification card around

Low then asked the man what company he was representing, and the man showed a form of identification card that was hanging from his neck.

In a separate post, Low shared that he was "not able to read nor scrutinise" the man's card as he was "waving it all the time".

Unconvinced, Low politely declined the offer and the man then moved on to the next house.

Neighbour asks for help

But the story did not end there.

The alleged conman then headed off next door to another elderly neighbour's door:

• The 76-year-old neighbour who was visited by the alleged conman then went over to Low's house to ask him if the offer was legitimate.
• At the same time, the alleged conman followed Low's neighbour closely.
• Low advised his neighbour to "be careful" and to check the offer with the relevant authorities first.

Upon hearing what Low said, the alleged conman raised his voice and told him to not get involved:

"He started cursing me and even wanted to fxxk my 93 years old mother, who was standing behind me."

Spat on

And things only got worse.

Low also raised his voice at the man, who then allegedly spat on Low.

Angered by the man's actions, Low then tried to run after the man who was already trying to get away.

While chasing after the man, he allegedly threw a punch at Low.

Low managed to avoid the man's fists, but, unfortunately, lost his balance and fell to the ground.

Despite this, he managed to fight back:

"However, I was very quick to jump back on my feet and lunged forward to punch him on the back of his head. He was taken aback and turned towards me, which gave me an opportunity to give a flying kick that landed on his stomach. I followed with a left punch to his chin."

The ordeal left Low with a slightly bruised hand.

Called police

Low's neighbour followed him shortly after and called the police, while Low tried to prevent the alleged conman from leaving.

However, the alleged conman managed to walk away before the police arrived at the scene.

Similar incidents

After Low's post went viral with over 5,000 shares, more Singaporeans voiced out that they have encountered similar incidents and some have even met the same man.

Scary.

HDB always inform in advance

According to HDB's guidelines, the board will inform residents of any maintenance or rectification works in advance, through circulars or notices on the block's notice board.

If one is approached by someone claiming to be representing HDB, residents can always ask for their staff card for verification purposes.

Top image from Isninhan Low's Facebook page