Singapore—Illegal moneylenders have apparently been up to their usual tricks, sending fake food orders cash-on-delivery to harass debtors.
Police confirmed earlier this year that a spate of fake Foodpanda orders has been linked to loan sharks intent on harassing people, according to a report in The Straits Times (ST).
One example of this was several Foodpanda orders at an HDB block at Bedok Reservoir View in March, where photos of at least four Foodpanda delivery personnel in their pink and grey uniforms waiting in the corridor outside the customer’s unit vent viral
This time, the victims of the scheme are residents of Block 468C Fernvale Link. They received several orders of food on Monday, May 31.
According to Mothership, the police say they received an alert that a case of harassment had occurred in Fernvale, where numerous delivery riders waited outside the unit bearing food orders.
The orders were cash-on-delivery, just like all the others in the past.
Shin Min Daily News (Shin Min) featured a photo on its Facebook page of several Foodpanda riders and the orders they brought to the Fernvale HDB.
The orders were placed by someone calling himself “Saju Man.”
One food order was placed at Swensen’s at Seletar Mall, costing S$72.
To his surprise, when the delivery rider came to the unit, a number of other riders were already waiting in the corridor.
The unit owner denied placing the orders.
Ten food delivery riders appeared in all, for a total of S$1,000 worth of food.
Shin Min quoted the rider from Swensen’s as decrying this modus operandi of the loan sharks as a waste of time and food.
Mothership added that the incident is now under investigation.
In March, a spokesman for the police told ST that “recent prank orders are related to unlicensed moneylenders making use of food suppliers and food delivery service providers to harass debtors and cause annoyance to the debtors and members of the public”.
The police have also said there is “zero tolerance for loan shark harassment activities. Those who deliberately cause annoyance and disruption to the public sense of safety, peace and security will be arrested and dealt with severely in accordance with the law”.
The spate of fake food orders rose earlier this year, with some riders telling ST they were getting fake food orders twice or thrice a week, with some even getting them almost every day.
A spokesman for Foodpanda also spoke to ST, and appealed to the public to use food delivery services, especially the cash-on-delivery option, responsibly.
“We appeal for the responsible use of food delivery services and cash-on-delivery option in consideration of food delivery riders who are working hard round the clock to deliver hot food to our homes.”
/TISG
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