Bukit Timah eatery targeted by fake bulk order from 'SCGS staff', school makes police report

An eatery at Bukit Timah was recently targeted by a person claiming to be from the Singapore Chinese Girls' School (SCGS).

HaPiHa, a Mediterranean restaurant at Ridgewood Close, said it received a call on Sep. 11 for a bulk school event booking.

The person said they wanted to order food for a three-day event at SCGS with 30 people.

After confirming that the school would pay S$70 per person, the restaurant began to make preparations.

Strange requests

But the next day, the "SCGS staff" contacted the restaurant again — this time with a strange request.

They asked HaPiHa to buy a mattress for their event, and promised to transfer the money later.

Suspicions raised, the restaurant refused the request.

The caller then vanished.

Police report made

The restaurant shared its experience in a Sep. 14 Instagram post.

"With business already challenging, scammers prey on restaurants' hopes for large bookings, wasting precious time and effort," it said.

It added that while it did not lose money to the scammer, "hours of work were wasted".

HaPiHa also posted a screenshot of its WhatsApp correspondence with the mystery buyer, which included SCGS's address details in partial Chinese.

In response to Mothership's queries, Linda Chan, the principal of SCGS, confirmed that the school is aware of the situation.

"The school is aware of the impersonation scams involving individuals falsely claiming to be making purchases on behalf of the school," she said.

They have since made a police report.

Fake bulk order scams

There has been a recent surge in fake bulk order scams targeting local businesses.

At least four eateries and one florist in Singapore have reported falling prey to such scams.

The modus operandi is similar: an individual contacts the business, claiming to be from the authorities, makes a bulk order, refuses to pay in advance, and then disappears.

The scammers also often make strange requests.

In several recent cases, individuals claiming to be from the military have tried to place orders for army rations, despite the business being wholly unrelated.

On Sep. 14, the Ministry of Defence issued a warning about such fraudulent bulk orders made by individuals claiming to be Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) personnel.

It said it is aware of seven such cases so far, and has made reports to the police.

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Top image from HaPiHa/Instagram