CHINESE restaurants starting to get back on their feet after the Covid-19 pandemic are now being targeted by scammers pretending to be customers, owners said.

According to restaurant owners, these scammers often put in large food orders and make unreasonable requests, compelling the restaurants to do business with their associates, who disappear once the restaurants make payment.

Owners who have fallen for the scammers’ tricks have reportedly lost thousands of ringgits.

Although it is not known how many in the restaurant industry have fallen victim to this scheme, it has raised a red flag among the players.

Owner of Daily Fish Restaurant in Butterworth, Penang, who wished to be known as Tan, said he had nearly fallen prey to scammers.

“I received a WhatsApp message reserving three tables daily from July 27 to 30,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

“When we receive such reservations, naturally we are excited, but this person started making unreasonable requests, such as asking us to purchase ‘Buddha jumps over the wall’, an expensive delicacy.

“The scammer also asked me to buy a specific brand and even gave me the person’s contact number. When contacted, the seller of the purported delicacy then asks me to pay upfront for the dish.

“This is when I realised that something was off. I told the scammer that he should pay for the delicacy himself, but then was given excuses like the company cannot open two accounts to pay for it.”

Tan said when he refused to pay, the messages and calls stopped.

“The person who contacted me spoke in a mainland Chinese accent and the number they contacted me was a foreign number with +852 dial code.”

Tan said, while restaurants are excited to get large orders, they should not let their guard down, or be greedy.

He noted that some had fallen prey but could not provide a number of victims.

Penang Koosoo Kwong Choon Tong Restaurant and Tea Shop Association chairman Vinah Yee Yook Chee said members had also complained of scammers trying to fleece them and she too was a target.

“If you receive an order for expensive ingredients, such as shark fin or abalone, you must take a 50% deposit to protect your business,” she said.

Meanwhile, Johor Kitchen Association president Ang Swee Kiong said he has told his employees to be careful when taking reservations.

“They must take down the person’s complete details. If they make a request that is not part of our service, then we must ask the customer to pay first,” Ang said.

Ang said those who have fallen for these scams should warn their peers.

“Scammers are well prepared. As business is still recovering, when we get large orders, we are happy. At the same time, greed can also lead you to be defrauded.”

On July 24, a restaurant owner in Bahau, Negri Sembilan, reportedly lost RM8,000 after a scammer tricked her into a larger food and wine order for an event at the restaurant.

The scammer met the owner and since the order was large, suggested the owner buy the wine from a contact of his.

The restaurant owner agreed, ordered, and paid for the wine. After which, the customer and the supposed wine merchant vanished. – August 11, 2022.