SINGAPORE, Dec 1 — A Lalamove driver who accepted a late-night delivery job “for the learning experience” ended up losing S$200 (RM640) after the order turned out to be a scam.
According to AsiaOne, the man said he took the job at about 2am last March despite hesitating at first, as the promise of a S$140 commission seemed attractive when no online-paid jobs were available.
He told Stomp that he had never taken such jobs before, but assumed it would be safe since it came through the Lalamove app.
The customer, who contacted him using an Indonesian number, first instructed him to buy S$23.80 worth of food in Bedok with his own money.
He was then told to pick up drinks, potato chips and tissue packets costing another S$5.75 from a convenience store across the road.
Thinking it was all part of the process, the driver complied — until the customer insisted he top up S$155 into a Singtel Dash virtual card.
The rider told him he did not have enough cash and asked to be paid via PayNow, but the customer claimed he was a tourist staying at a friend’s home and could not use the service.
The customer then threatened to cancel the job if the top-up was not made.
“I was a bit shocked and sad as all the items I had bought earlier couldn’t be refunded and it was my hard-earned money. So I forked out S$155 out of my own pocket and topped up the card for him,” he said.
After reaching the given address, the driver said the customer stopped responding. He lodged a police report, and officers who arrived about 45 minutes later told him it was a scam.
The man said Lalamove offered him only S$2 in compensation.
“I was very stressed as I needed to return the money I borrowed for the purchases that I made,” he said. “I am very devastated and disappointed as I lost all my hard-earned money.”
Lalamove told Stomp it had addressed the case directly with the driver at the time and continues to remind its partners to avoid unusual orders and report suspicious activity through the driver app.
