Last Wednesday, a Facebook user by the name of Karen Ong took to the social media platform to alert the public about an alleged scam operating around different heartland neighborhoods in Singapore. Referencing a Lianhe Wanbao story from November last year, she explained the scam as a strange sales tactic involving free goodie bags… that would eventually cost the receiver $100.
But the most bizarre part of it all is that people — mostly elderly victims — have actually been coughing up the money just to get their hands on those “free” goodie bags.
This is apparently how the scam works:
- Scammers set up booths at markets in heartland areas.
- The sales pitch is made in Cantonese, starting with an offer of free gifts for those in the crowd.
- Salesperson maintains eye contact with people in the front row and reminds them to keep looking at him.
- He packs a bunch of items into a plastic bag and tells the crowd it’s a free goodie bag for them.
- At the end of the spiel, the scammer commands the crowd to whip up their wallets and raise them high above their heads.
- He asks them to take out two $50 notes for him as a “favor,” explaining that they’ll get some change back (about $1, it seems), and that this small amount is for “goodwill”.
- The crowd gets whipped into an excited frenzy, answering “yes” and “want” to his every question.
- Some individuals in the audience are suspected of being planted there, to act as enthusiastic customers and make the entire thing look genuine.
Ong went on to warn that the scam has reportedly been circulating around neighborhoods such as Woodlands, Toa Payoh, Simei, Punggol, Yew Tee, Clementi, and Bugis.
“Remember there’s no free lunch in the world,” she said. “I can’t stand [people] using these unscrupulous and despicable methods to earn money, really.”
As her post went viral, many netizens came forward claiming they had also witnessed similar situations in other parts of Singapore. Chinatown was one of the frequently mentioned areas where such scams were spotted recently — perhaps in an attempt by the scammers to take advantage of the Chinese New Year crowd and their willingness to spend during the festive period.
Very peculiar, indeed.
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