Food Delivery Rider Suspects He May Have Fallen Victim To A Fake Cash-On-Delivery Order; Guesses It’s A Loan Shark Harassment Tactic

While many viewers were shocked by the videos, Klinsmann, who’s been a Foodpanda delivery rider for one-and-a-half years, wasn’t.

He says this isn’t the first time he has encountered suspicious cash-on-delivery orders.

“I’ve experienced similar cases before. The difference is that I didn’t have the audience or equipment back then to document what happened,” he says.

According to him, incidents like these are regularly discussed among riders while they wait for jobs outside shopping malls and at collection points.

“Almost every few days, another rider will tell me they’ve experienced this exact scenario involving a cash-on-delivery order and an address where the account holder doesn’t even live.”

While the mysterious deliveries are frustrating enough, Klinsmann says what really hurts riders is the amount of time lost trying to resolve them.

According to him, riders first must wait about 10 minutes just to get through to customer support.

“We do not get compensation for around 30 minutes of wait time,” he tells us.

For riders whose income depend almost entirely on how many deliveries they complete, every minute counts.

“You’ve wasted your time, and you still haven’t collected payment because of this problem,” Klinsmann adds.

According to Klinsmann, riders can’t tell whether an order is cash-on-delivery before accepting it, and they only find out after collecting the food and start the delivery.

“As riders, our eventual goal is to lobby for the removal of cash-on-delivery orders. It will prevent this loophole from being abused and make food delivery much more efficient,” he tells 8days.sg.

In response to queries from 8days.sg, Foodpanda said it was aware of the incident and confirmed that all three affected delivery partners have been fully supported.

The company said the riders would not incur any financial losses or performance penalties, adding that it has an existing policy to ensure delivery partners are not left bearing the costs of fraudulent activities.

Foodpanda also encouraged riders who encounter suspicious situations to contact its rider support team immediately via the Pandarider app for assistance.

The company added that it takes misuse of its platform for unlawful activities seriously and has implemented account verification processes, fraud detection algorithms and ongoing order monitoring to identify and mitigate suspicious transactions. It also regularly shares advisories from the Singapore Police Force with delivery partners, reminding them to stay vigilant against potential scams.

As for why cash-on-delivery remains an option, Foodpanda said the feature continues to serve customers who may not have access to cashless payment methods.

“Our Cash on Delivery option remains available to ensure the service is accessible to customers who may not have access to cashless payment methods, we have a zero tolerance for its exploitation,” the company said.

Foodpanda added that it will continue strengthening its processes to provide “a safe and pleasant experience for everyone who uses our services.”

Since Klinsmann’s videos went viral, he says many fellow riders have reached out to share similar experiences.

The comments section quickly filled with delivery riders saying this has been happening for years.

“They should just ban cash payments,” one rider commented.

Others acknowledged that while cash-on-delivery remains convenient for some customers, it also leaves riders exposed when people misuse the feature.

Many also praised Klinsmann for staying behind to warn the other two riders instead of simply cancelling his own order and moving on.

“You are awesome for staying to help de-escalate the situation instead of just leaving to complete more deliveries,” a netizen wrote.