Seafood restaurant loses $4,600 after diner pays for meals with fake PayNow screenshots

A seafood restaurant in Joo Chiat recently found out that they lost over $4,000 — all thanks to a diner who managed to trick them numerous times.

The owner of Home of Seafood, Bob, told Shin Min Daily News on Monday (Sept 11) that his new accountant first discovered something strange with their accounts about two weeks ago. 

A female customer had sent a screenshot for a payment of $155.24, but never actually transferred the money over. 

Bob explained that his restaurant allows customers to pay for their orders through PayNow, and send a screenshot of the completed transaction via WhatsApp. 

"Our new accountant joined us last month and I asked her to recheck our accounts. It was only then when we discovered the discrepancies," said Bob. 

They looked further into the transactions and found that this particular diner had used the same method to get free meals from the seafood restaurant over the past two years. 

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The 43-year-old restaurant owner told the Chinese daily that the woman had eaten for 'free' at their establishment for a total of 35 times, with bills ranging from $50 to $200 each.

"After two years, we've lost about $4,600," lamented the restaurant owner. 

According to Bob, the screenshots sent by the female customer appeared authentic. "We couldn't tell it was fake," he said, adding that the loss was likely because the previous accountant did not verify if the payments were received. 

However, he conceded that PayNow transactions are more cumbersome, as the staff need to log into the company's bank account to confirm if the money has been transferred. 

Despite all that happened, Bob said he will not be removing PayNow as a payment method for his business for now. 

He is, however, exploring other payment methods. 

READ ALSO: 'Not a small amount for me': Waitress saddled with $245 bill after couple feasts on $200 fish, leaves without paying

claudiatan@asiaone.com

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