A Singapore restaurant has issued a warning to fellow business owners after an alleged scam involving a large takeaway order, a fake payment receipt and a delivery address that apparently had nothing to do with the customer.
Ăn Là Ghiền – Authentic Vietnamese Cuisine shared details of the incident online after a man allegedly placed an order worth S$288.85 and sent the restaurant what appeared to be a successful payment receipt.
The restaurant said its staff believed the transaction had gone through and proceeded to prepare the entire order. A Lalamove delivery was then arranged to send the food to an address along Jalan Sempadan.
Resident Says They Never Ordered The Food
Things reportedly became suspicious when the delivery driver arrived at the stated address. The resident there allegedly refused to accept the food and told the driver that they had never placed an order with the restaurant.
Restaurant staff then contacted the man who had made the order. According to the restaurant, he repeatedly insisted that the Jalan Sempadan address was correct. The Lalamove driver also contacted him directly and reportedly received the same response.
Fortunately for the restaurant, the driver apparently decided not to simply leave the food at the address. He became suspicious about the situation and returned the entire order to the restaurant.
That allowed the restaurant to investigate before a potentially expensive order disappeared without payment.
Restaurant Checks Bank Account And Finds No Payment
After being informed about what had happened, the restaurant said it immediately checked its actual bank account.
There was one problem: the S$288.85 payment was nowhere to be found.
Although the customer had allegedly sent a screenshot or receipt showing that the transaction had been successful, the restaurant said no corresponding funds had actually been credited to its account.
The incident highlights a potentially costly trap for F&B operators. A screenshot showing a successful transaction may look convincing, but it does not necessarily mean the money has reached the merchant’s bank account.
Customer Allegedly Gives Even Stranger Explanation
The restaurant owner then reportedly contacted the customer personally to ask about the missing payment and the rejected delivery.
The man’s explanation allegedly became even more unusual. He reportedly claimed that his friend had already eaten the food, subsequently became unwell and was waiting for an ambulance to take him to hospital.
There was, however, one rather significant problem with that story: according to the restaurant, the food had never reached the address.
The Lalamove driver had already returned the order to the restaurant, meaning the food was apparently still sitting with the business rather than being consumed by the supposed friend.
When the restaurant owner allegedly asked the customer to provide a photograph of the food as proof, the man reportedly claimed that everything had already been eaten and therefore no photograph was available.
Restaurant Threatens To Report The Matter
The restaurant said the customer became mocking after being told that the matter could be reported to the police over the suspected fake payment and disruption caused to the business.
According to the restaurant’s account, the man also allegedly made an inappropriate sexual remark during the conversation.
The restaurant subsequently shared the incident as a warning to other F&B operators and business owners, rather than blaming the resident at the delivery address. It said the address may have been used without the resident’s knowledge.
The business particularly urged merchants handling large takeaway or delivery orders to verify that payments have actually arrived before releasing food or goods.
‘Check The Money, Not The Screenshot’
The incident serves as a reminder that a convincing payment screenshot should not be treated as proof that a transaction has been completed.
For restaurants, the safest approach is to check the actual bank account or official payment system before preparing or handing over expensive orders. This is particularly important when customers place unusually large orders, provide unfamiliar delivery addresses or appear to be rushing staff to accept a payment screenshot.
In this case, the restaurant said the Lalamove driver’s decision to return the food prevented the S$288.85 order from simply disappearing.
For the business owner, the lesson was straightforward: a screenshot can say “payment successful”, but the bank account gets the final vote.
The restaurant has since urged other businesses to stay alert and share the warning with fellow operators. The allegations described in the restaurant’s post have not been independently established, and any suspected wrongdoing would ultimately be a matter for the authorities to investigate.