Geylang restaurant prepares S$288 order only to find out customer sent fake payment screenshot

The owner of a Vietnamese restaurant in Geylang believes they have been scammed by a customer who sent a fake screenshot of a successful payment.

They shared what happened in a Facebook post on Aug. 13 to warn other business owners to be cautious of similar incidents.

The customer called the restaurant, An La Ghien, at about 5:42pm on Aug. 12 to place a takeaway order for a total of S$288.85.

According to the receipt of the order shared with Shin Min Daily News, the customer ordered fresh oysters, fried tofu, various spring rolls, a Vietnamese pancake, grilled pork cutlet, and fried chicken wings.

After the staff sent him a QR code via WhatsApp to make payment, he replied shortly after with a screenshot of the transaction in DBS iBanking, confirming the payment was successful.

The team, believing the payment had been made, prepared the order and arranged for it to be delivered to the customer's address via Lalamove.

Order not collected

According to the owner, the Lalamove driver was not able to deliver the order.

The person who lived at the address the customer provided refused the order, saying they did not order any food from the restaurant.

Both the restaurant staff and the Lalamove driver called the customer, who told them the address was correct.

The driver found this suspicious and returned the food to the restaurant.

When the staff informed the owner about the failed delivery, the owner checked the restaurant's bank account and realised that the payment of S$288.85 had not been received, they claimed.

"Despite the 'successful payment' receipt that was sent to us, no money had actually been credited to our account," the owner said.

More suspicious claims

When the owner called the customer to question him, he allegedly said that his friend had already eaten the restaurant's food, became unwell, and was waiting for an ambulance to take him to the hospital.

The owner felt that this "made absolutely no sense" because the food had never been delivered to anyone.

They asked the customer for a photo of the food to prove his claim, but he said he and his friend had already eaten it all.

When the owner threatened to report him to the police, he allegedly started to make fun of the owner, even making an inappropriate sexual remark.

The owner told Shin Min that it was the first time the restaurant had encountered a situation like this. They made a police report the following day.

In response to Mothership's queries, the police confirmed that a report was lodged, and said investigations are ongoing.

In light of the incident, the owner advised other business owners to be especially careful with large orders.

"Verify the money in your account — not just the payment screenshot," they stressed.