Hawker family loses S$3,000 after scammers change bank details on food delivery platforms
A hawker family in Tampines lost about S$3,000 after scammers quietly accessed their e-mail and food delivery platform accounts, changing bank details and redirecting earnings from Grab, foodpanda and Deliveroo.
- Scammers hacked the family’s e-mail, then altered bank details on Grab, foodpanda and Deliveroo.
- $3,000 (approximately US$2,230) was diverted, with total losses increased by a week-long halt in deliveries.
- Platforms are tightening verification checks as police investigate at least four similar cases.
SINGAPORE: When Ms Pooja realised her parents had not received their food delivery earnings for nearly two weeks, she decided to examine their account details. To her shock, the bank account linked to their foodpanda vendor account had been replaced.
Transaction logs showed that between 10 and 14 October, around S$3,000 (approximately US$2,230) had been transferred to an unknown account.
Her parents, who have operated their Indian food stall for seven years, had never encountered such issues.
They had not received suspicious calls or messages.
Instead, the scammers had already infiltrated their e-mail account months earlier—back in July—allowing them to change access credentials across multiple delivery platforms.
Attempts Across Multiple Platforms
In September, the scammers tried to alter the bank details on their Grab account.
Grab contacted the family to verify the change, and the password was reset.
However, the breach was not fully understood at the time, and similar unauthorised adjustments later appeared on both foodpanda and Deliveroo, resulting in further losses, including S$50 (approximately US$37) from Deliveroo.
Financial and Operational Impact
To secure their accounts, the family temporarily halted foodpanda orders for a week, losing an estimated S$2,500 (approximately US$1,860) in potential income.
So far, they have recovered S$1,300 (approximately US$965) from foodpanda, while police investigations continue.
Foodpanda and Grab said they have introduced additional verification measures and are educating vendors about new scam tactics targeting F&B businesses.
Ms Pooja said her parents will now adopt stricter password management and two-factor authentication. Despite the ordeal, the family intends to continue using delivery platforms, hoping improved safeguards will prevent future breaches.
Rising Scam Cases in Singapore
Singapore continues to battle a surge in scam crimes. Police data shows that S$456.4 million (approximately US$340 million) was lost to scams in just the first half of 2025, with nearly 20,000 cases reported. In 2024, losses hit a record S$1.1 billion (approximately US$820 million).
Authorities have repeatedly warned that scammers increasingly target both individuals and businesses, including F&B vendors, through phishing, malware and account-takeover schemes.
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