A Lalamove driver lost almost $200 to a scammer after accepting a bogus job on the Lalamove app.<\/p>\n
It happened in the early hours of March 18, 2024.<\/p>\n
Asked why he decided to share his story now, Stomper Rino<\/b><\/span> said: “I just want to bring this up as there have been many scams lately.<\/p>\n “I’ve been thinking whether to share or not. It’s time to expose them because they keep coming up with ads inviting drivers to work for them.”<\/p>\n It all started when he saw a job with a $140 cash commission on the Lalamove app at 2.23am. The client’s name was “Antonio Lim Guan”.<\/p>\n The Stomper said: “I didn’t want to do this job because I’ve never done this kind of job before as the previous jobs I accepted were all paid online.<\/p>\n “But on that fateful night, no such jobs were available at that point of time. So I decided to take it up also as a learning experience.<\/p>\n “What’s more it was on the Lalamove app. What could go wrong?”<\/p>\n It would be a lesson he wouldn’t forget.<\/p>\n He recounted: “After accepting the job, the client messaged me through the app stating that it was confirmed. He then started to WhatsApp me through an Indonesian number. I didn’t think much of it at that point of time, so I replied.<\/p>\n “First, he asked me to buy food at Al-Sahira Restaurant in Bedok which was quite near the place to where I needed to deliver. He asked me to pay first. He even asked me for a receipt, so he can pay me later and also mentioned he would tip me. It was my first time, so I agreed and paid for it.”<\/p>\n The Stomper paid $23.80 for one egg prata, mee goreng and nasi goreng.<\/p>\n He was then asked to go to a 7-Eleven opposite the restaurant and buy drinks, potato chips and tissues amounting $5.75.<\/p>\n “Again, I didn’t think much of it as I thought it was part of the process,” said the Stomper.<\/p>\n “So after I bought everything using my own cash and money, he then told me that I needed to top up $155 in his Singtel Dash virtual card and he gave me the number to top up.<\/p>\n “I told him I didn’t have enough cash and I asked him to use PayNow. He told me he was a tourist living in a friend’s house and didn’t have PayNow.<\/p>\n “I told him I really didn’t have enough and he then told me, ‘If that’s the case, I will cancel all the orders that you paid for earlier.’<\/p>\n “I was a bit shocked and sad as all the items I had bought earlier couldn’t be refunded and it was my hard-earn money. So I forked out $155 out of my own pocket and topped up the card for him.<\/p>\n “After the transaction went through, he still asked me to take all the receipts and claim from him later. I told him I was five minutes away from his location.”<\/p>\n And that was the last contact the Stomper had with the client.<\/p>\n “From that moment onwards, he edited the number that I topped up earlier and went missing,” said the Stomper. “Then I was stuck with all the food and drinks, which were non-refundable<\/p>\n “When I went to his location, there were nobody answering the door. I knock umpteen times at the door and even called, but no one was responding. I reached out to Lalamove help lines, but they were not really helpful at all.”<\/p>\n The Stomper called the police, who arrived 45 minutes later and told him he had been scammed.<\/p>\n “I reach out to Lalamove with regards to this incident as I had the police case card and they said they will take about seven days to get back to me,” said the Stomper.<\/p>\n “I told them it was urgent because the money I spent for everything amounted to almost $200. In the end, I was reimbursed only $2 plus by Lalamove and I didn’t hear from them anymore.<\/p>\n “I was very stressed as I needed to return the money that I borrowed for the purchases that I made.<\/p>\n “Ever since then, I stopped working for Lalamove as I was very traumatised and I received no assistance at all from Lalamove. I am very devastated and disappointed as I lost all my hard-earned money.”<\/p>\n In response to a Stomp query, a spokesperson for Lalamove said: “We are aware of the March 2024 incident and addressed it by engaging directly with the affected driver partner at that time.<\/p>\n “At Lalamove, we prioritise the safety and well-being of our driver partners. We continuously educate our drivers to avoid unusual orders and to report any suspicious activities through the Lalamove driver app.”<\/p>\n The police told Stomp that investigations are ongoing.<\/p>\n Another Lalamove employee was similarly scammed in May 2024, reported Shin Min Daily News<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n![\"WhatsApp](\"https:\/\/cassette.sphdigital.com.sg\/image\/stomp\/ae3920afce5c339550bd46f39c357407ec2803715b372582ff849cc443f39202\/BeFunky-collage2.jpg?w=360&f=webp)
<\/picture>What Lalamove says<\/h3>\n
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