In the government's relentless drive to make the hawkers go cashless, the hawkers are the ones paying the price.
This is another typical government boo boo: force through a policy decisionfrom the top without working out the implementation and the loopholes.
What are the civil servants paid for? Jiak liao bee.
Hawkers in Singapore scammed by fake screenshots of e-payments from customers
Hawkers said other common methods used were cancelled transactions.ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH
Cheryl Teh
PUBLISHED Dec 8, 2020
SINGAPORE - From fraudulent screenshots to quickly cancelled transactions, crafty customers have found some convenient loopholes in cashless payment systems set up in local hawker centres.
Some 15 hawkers interviewed by The Straits Times said that these bad experiences and losses have left them reluctant to continue with cashless payment systems.
Hawkers told ST that one of the key methods that scammers used was keeping screenshots of genuine transactions on hand.
They would then return to the stall another day, order the same item and flash the screenshot of this past transaction quickly as proof of payment.
Madam Khaw Li Ling, who is in her 60s and operates a rojak stall at Toa Payoh West Market and Food Centre, said: "Sometimes, customers have very creative ways of cheating us - it requires effort on their part to manufacture a screenshot."
She said she was once cheated out of more than $30 by a young woman who purchased a large amount of rojak during the lunch rush hour. The woman flashed what Madam Khaw said was a "scam screenshot".
"I couldn't believe that people would go to so much trouble just to save $5 or $6 for a plate of rojak, but it's more common than you think," Madam Khaw said.
Hawkers said other common methods used were cancelled transactions: Customers flash the pre-payment page in front of hawkers, but do not approve these transactions before walking away. This results in cashless transactions not going through.
"These scams happen most regularly during lunch hour and the dinner rush hour when we have no time to stand around, look at our phone and wait for the money to go through," said Mr Ooi Gim Beng, who is in his 60s and sells duck rice at a coffee shop in Ang Mo Kio.
He said he has been cheated "around 10 to 20 times", but has chosen not to pursue the matter as the sums were under $10 a transaction.
"We understand that there might be a lag time between transactions going through on the customer's end and showing up on our devices, but just because we want to be cautious, we can't hold up an entire line of customers who want to be served quickly. It's probably just easier to use cash," Mr Ooi said in Mandarin.
Mr Lum Sing Yew, 75, a hawker at Redhill Market and Food Centre who sells noodles, was also a victim of such scams.
He has accumulated losses of some $100 to $150 since he started using the QR code payment system a year ago.
"It really hurts our earnings and these things add up. As hawkers, we do not have huge profits," he said in Cantonese.
"Of course, going cashless is convenient, but if there are consistent monetary losses, maybe we should just stick to cash," he added.
This is another typical government boo boo: force through a policy decisionfrom the top without working out the implementation and the loopholes.
What are the civil servants paid for? Jiak liao bee.
Hawkers in Singapore scammed by fake screenshots of e-payments from customers
Hawkers said other common methods used were cancelled transactions.ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH
Cheryl Teh
PUBLISHED Dec 8, 2020
SINGAPORE - From fraudulent screenshots to quickly cancelled transactions, crafty customers have found some convenient loopholes in cashless payment systems set up in local hawker centres.
Some 15 hawkers interviewed by The Straits Times said that these bad experiences and losses have left them reluctant to continue with cashless payment systems.
Hawkers told ST that one of the key methods that scammers used was keeping screenshots of genuine transactions on hand.
They would then return to the stall another day, order the same item and flash the screenshot of this past transaction quickly as proof of payment.
Madam Khaw Li Ling, who is in her 60s and operates a rojak stall at Toa Payoh West Market and Food Centre, said: "Sometimes, customers have very creative ways of cheating us - it requires effort on their part to manufacture a screenshot."
She said she was once cheated out of more than $30 by a young woman who purchased a large amount of rojak during the lunch rush hour. The woman flashed what Madam Khaw said was a "scam screenshot".
"I couldn't believe that people would go to so much trouble just to save $5 or $6 for a plate of rojak, but it's more common than you think," Madam Khaw said.
Hawkers said other common methods used were cancelled transactions: Customers flash the pre-payment page in front of hawkers, but do not approve these transactions before walking away. This results in cashless transactions not going through.
"These scams happen most regularly during lunch hour and the dinner rush hour when we have no time to stand around, look at our phone and wait for the money to go through," said Mr Ooi Gim Beng, who is in his 60s and sells duck rice at a coffee shop in Ang Mo Kio.
He said he has been cheated "around 10 to 20 times", but has chosen not to pursue the matter as the sums were under $10 a transaction.
"We understand that there might be a lag time between transactions going through on the customer's end and showing up on our devices, but just because we want to be cautious, we can't hold up an entire line of customers who want to be served quickly. It's probably just easier to use cash," Mr Ooi said in Mandarin.
Mr Lum Sing Yew, 75, a hawker at Redhill Market and Food Centre who sells noodles, was also a victim of such scams.
He has accumulated losses of some $100 to $150 since he started using the QR code payment system a year ago.
"It really hurts our earnings and these things add up. As hawkers, we do not have huge profits," he said in Cantonese.
"Of course, going cashless is convenient, but if there are consistent monetary losses, maybe we should just stick to cash," he added.
