East Coast cafe dine & dash: Woman doctors S$272.25 PayNow screenshot on the spot, shows staff, leaves

A woman ordered 19 dishes at an East Coast Road cafe on Aug. 30 — and left after pretending to settle the S$272.25 bill.

She did this by apparently doctoring a screenshot of a PayNow fund transfer receipt on her phone on the spot to trick staff into believing the bill was settled.

Footage of her alleged scam was caught on the in-store surveillance cameras and shared online.

The clip has since been removed.

What happened

The woman entered Breakfast Grill, located at East Coast Road, around 5:30pm where she ordered numerous items.

The food she ordered included cheesy bacon tots, carbonara, two mushroom soups, truffle mushroom orzo, buffalo wings, hot honey corn ribs, and mentaiko udon.

She also ordered multiple drinks and desserts.

Around two hours later, the woman went to the counter to pay for her food.

As seen in the footage, the woman could be seen scrolling and sliding her fingers on her phone, which was apparently when she doctored an image featuring a fake PayNow transfer screenshot that included the restaurant's name in the recipient field.

The fake PayNow transfer screenshot was then presented to the cashier, before she rushed out of the cafe.

The employees checked and realised they had been scammed, but could not catch up to her in time.

Other business owners allegedly also scammed by the woman before

The 26-year-old owner of Breakfast Grill, B, told Mothership that this was the first time such a scam happened to them.

Customers usually paid by credit card or scanning the QR code, she said.

Other business owners also claimed to B that they had been scammed by the same woman before.

The woman's modus operandi apparently involved ordering multiple dishes and then presenting a fake PayNow transfer receipt as proof of a successful fund transfer.

Woman repaid money owed

According to B, she managed to get in touch with the woman after footage of the incident was shared online.

The woman apologised and said "she was going through something", B said without elaborating.

The woman also promised that she would not do it again and paid the cafe the money she owed.

"We decided to forgive her as we believe she should be given a second chance," B said, adding that they learned their lesson too from the situation.

The cafe will stick to using cash, credit cards, or payment directly via their platform to be safe. B said.

B confirmed a police report was made, but added that she hoped more business owners would be aware of such scams.

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) confirmed with Mothership a report was lodged and investigations are ongoing.

Top image via courtesy of B.