Scammers now pretend to be staff members of Singapore Girls’ School, business owners now vigilant of their schemes

SINGAPORE: Scammers are now stepping up their schemes as they pretend to be staff members of the Singapore Girls’ School, primarily targeting restaurants, durian vendors, and bedding companies. 

In recent news, the New Paper reported that there were bulk scam orders of turmeric rice, bread and pastries, and even bouquets for more than a hundred people from scammers who are pretending to be soldiers. The total scammed bill amounted to more than S$32,000, and at least five merchants were victims. A few days after, a similar scheme happened again, and this time the culprits changed their identities and became staff members of the Singapore Girls’ School. Fortunately, the business owners were now vigilant and alert and have not been scammed once again. 

Testimonies of the merchants

One merchant expressed that a man called her restaurant, claiming to be a school staff manager. The caller stated that he wanted to have a dinner party for 30 people at the restaurant from September 12th to 14th, with a budget of S$100 per person. 

She calculated the overall expenses of the request, and it was more than S$6,000. The merchant declared that she suspected it was a scam and asked the man to pay a 50% deposit first. The man then replied that the company’s finance department ‘had something to do’, and changed to subject, stating that he would organize a charity event and asked for her help to buy a mattress. 

“I refused immediately, but they continued to lobby and said they would pay the commission. That’s when I knew there was a problem,” she shared. 

After what happened, she posted the incident on social media to warn others. “I saw news reports about vendors who were scammed by fake orders from soldiers. I felt really bad for them and hope there won’t be more victims,” the female merchant stated. 

Another vendor, a 41-year-old who sells fruits, also received a call from a so-called staff member of the school and stated that she wanted to buy 80 boxes of durian and 160 boxes of grapes for a party. “The total transaction amount was S$4,080. They placed the order very quickly.” 

Luckily, the vendor had met with schools beforehand and noticed that they usually place their orders a month in advance and ask for quotations. He was also encouraged to donate 40 mattresses to charity and said, “I thought it was strange at the time, and since I’m not in the mattress business, I declined.” 

The principal of Singapore Girls’ School said that they were aware of the schemes relating to their institution and had reported the matter to the authorities. 

Singapore is making more efforts to combat the increasing issue of scammers. The Singapore Parliament passed the Protection from Scams Bill last January 2025, to help protect people targeted by scammers, especially those who don’t realise they are being tricked even after being warned multiple times.