What is up with durians and scams? Previously, we had an article about an alleged scam of S$160 of durians.
And now, yet another alleged scam is being exposed on our favourite news source Facebook.
(A reminder that we’re using the word alleged again because this is from Facebook and there’s no proof it actually happened.)
The scam is simple: pay by PayNow once. On subsequent visits to the same durian shop, show the technologically illiterate uncle or auntie the old receipt and claim that the durians are paid for.
Ah Seng Durian noticed a customer had been doing exactly that several times, but never managed to catch him in person.
Let’s call this customer “Sam” (not the real name).
Alleged Scammer Came Back Again, And Ah Seng Confronted Him
Then one day, Sam made another reservation and Ah Seng Durian knew this was the time to confront him.
Like previously, Sam collected his order and then pretended to scan the PayNow QR for payment. He then showed to Ah Seng Durian’s employee a saved screenshot of the previous successful payment as proof of payment.
But Ah Seng Durian double checked on their side, and confirmed that there was indeed no payment received this time.
Physically caught in the act, Ah Seng Durian employees surrounded Sam from all corners to question him.
Without hesitation, Sam offered to pay for his purchase, explaining that he had simply forgotten to key in the amount for payment.
In their post, Ah Seng Durian questions this explanation:
“So what did he show to our auntie then? Did he really forget to make payment or was it just a convenient excuse?”
With previous evidence that Sam dodged payment, the employees pressed him harder. After detailed questioning and presenting camera recordings, Sam finally admitted to the scam and apologised profusely. He offered to pay for the previous times.
Case Settled Privately
Ah Seng Durian decided to “live and let live”, accepting his apologies.
But they also warn any potential scammers that they will “not hesitate to make reports to the relevant authorities to handle such cases in future.”
Since cashless payment was implemented, this was the first case that Ah Seng Durian experienced, and they hope not to see them again.
And as a regular human being who hopes that cashless payment can actually be a trusted and viable method of payment in the 21st century, I also hope for assholes not to ruin another good technology.
Reader Bao: I promise I’ve never screenshot a SafeEntry “receipt”
Why are you so eager to defend yourself for something no one has accused you of?
Durian Scams Are Known To Happen To All Parties
By all parties, I mean that there are cases of not only customers scamming sellers, but also of sellers scamming customers and sellers scamming sellers, probably existing as long as the durian came into existence.
Example of a case of seller scamming customer:
In 2017, some durian sellers went around HDB blocks, door-to-door, claiming to sell MSW durians on the cheap. A buyer decided to buy some from them and went to take her wallet without specifying an amount she wanted.
Without clarification or notifying the buyer, the sellers opened 6 fruits and claimed that the weight of the durians was 23kg, bringing the bill to S$345.
Basically, they pushed the buyer to buy more durians than what she requested for.
And here’s an example of seller scamming seller (and customers):
There is a relatively reputable online durian delivery Durian Express Delivery, which started operations in Dec 2019.
In June 2020, a Durians Express Delivery (with an “s”) opened with very similar logos.
Customers apparently wanted to go to the more reputable deliverer, but unknowingly went to unreputable one with “s”. (Or if you’re immature like me, the one with “sex” in the url.)
Ordering from the newer website, customers got “rotten” and “frozen” durians of low quality. Complaints by customers were brought to the more reputable no “s” shop, forcing the shop to respond to undeserving complaints and damages to their brand name.
In fact, 150 people reported this to the police.
So the lesson is: if you want to deal with the thorny durian, be wary.
And also, if you want to know why durians smell so good to us and some angmos fainted after smelling them, watch this video (and also subscribe to our YouTube channel, please!):
Here’s a simplified summary of the South Korea martial law that even a 5-year-old would understand:
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