17YO Teen Found Loophole In ComfortDelgro App, Cheated Almost $2,600 Worth Of Rides From Them

What would you do if one day, you booked a ride via the ComfortDelgro app and realised something you did gets you out of paying for the ride?

1. Send a message to ComfortDelgro, hope for a reward
2. Send a message to ComfortDelgro, offer to pay for the ride anyway.
3. Exploit the heck out of it because Chicken winner, loser weepers

This was a dilemma faced by a 17-year-old boy last year when he found a loophole in the ComfortDelgro app, allowing him to enjoy free rides as many times as he wants without a promo.

And he decided to go with option 3.

What Happened

In Oct last year, a 17-year-old teenager had enough money in his account when he ordered a ride from the ComfortDelgro app using the NETS Click payment method.

However, while waiting for his ride to arrive, he bought some items at a convenience shop, leaving insufficient funds in his account.

After he arrived at his destination, he checked his account and realised that the amount for the ride was not deducted.

Suspecting that something he has done led to a free ride, he booked another vehicle using the same payment method and transferred the money out of his account after the ride was approved.

After proving that the method works, this teenager had a money-making idea.

Why not book rides for others and charge them a fee at a lower price than the normal ComfortDelgro app?

Ordered 117 Free Rides For Himself & Others

And that was exactly what he did.

He advertised his services on the Telegram chat group, SG Hitch, and offer cheaper ComfortDelgro rides to people.

According to Today, the teenager managed to order 117 free rides for himself, his friends and his “clients”, all within the span of a single week.

The total amount of these rides add up to $2,598.60.

ComfortDelgro had lodged a police report after its bank informed the company about fraudulent transactions.

Investigations by the transport company revealed that the transactions originated from taxi bookings made through their mobile app.

Pleaded Guilty To His Offence

The teenager, now 18 years old, admitted to his offence on 21 Sep 2020.

He pleaded guilty to one charge of “performing a computer function to commit an offence of cheating”.

He will be back in court for sentencing on 29 Sep 2020, and is facing up to 10 years’ jail, a fine of up to $50,000, or both.

The judge has requested reports to assess whether the teenager is suitable for reformative training and probation.

It was also reported that the teenager has not made any repayments to ComfortDelgro for the losses he had caused.

So now you know, the next time you pick up an EZ-Link card from the ground, return it to the EZ-Link office instead of using it to buy Burger King.

As this incident has shown, you can run but you can’t hide.

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