Thankfully, Vincent was wary of the plan and told Chen Lao Shi to first transfer the payment for the beds.
The sum was a in no way meagre S$15.8k.
Kimberly and her husband were aware that money transferred by internet banking or PayNow should reflect in their account activity immediately. As such the “first red flag” they noticed was that the money had not entered Vincent’s bank account at all.
“But Chen Lao Shi will convince you that the money will come in within the next few hours because the money is stuck in MOE because they are a school and need approval,” she continued.
Her husband was then bombarded with calls from both Chen Lao Shi and the bed supplier. At this point, one can probably assume that both parties are in cahoots.
They worked together to pressure Kimberly’s husband into settling the deal fast by coming up with various excuses.
Her husband refused to transfer the money and was told by the bed supplier to “secure the deal” with a S$6K deposit. He did not agree with the plan, and the bed supplier later dropped the deposit to S$3K, and then S$2K, clearly getting more desperate.
“Chen Lao Shi even threatened my husband. If he doesn’t go through with this deal, he will not be able to use my husband’s service, which is [why he called in the first place]” said Kimberly.
Noticing all the red flags, Kimberly’s husband called Commonwealth Secondary School, only to find out the school had been receiving calls about the scammers for seven weeks.
“My husband’s experience is that it’s really very believable, and if you are more of the kancheong type of person, I think you might actually fall for it. They really don’t give you time to react at all and prey on business-minded people, [making them believe] they can earn some quick cash,” Kimberly added.
She then warned all her followers to be very careful should they encounter such propositions.
It looks like many netizens have already encountered similar scams, with one saying that the scammers will also claim they are from other schools, including Hwa Chong Institution and Ngee Ann Secondary School.
In other cases, the scammers will claim they require help buying wheelchairs for old folks’ homes, or double-decker beds for the needy.
Many thanked Kimberly for sharing her husband’s experience, with the majority hoping that other Singaporeans will not fall prey to such scams as well.