A Vietnamese tourist who tried to buy a phone for his girlfriend while visiting Singapore as a tourist got trapped in a scam run by an unscrupulous cell phone shop owner that has tarnished Singapore’s “clean” reputation.
The scam works like this: The customer, usually a tourist, buys a phone for a reasonable price. Then the shop has the customer sign an “agreement,” usually in English.
Finally, after the victim’s credit card has been swiped, the victim notices there’s an extra S$1,500 charge, which is explained as the cost of the “warranty.”
When the customer complains, the shop owner goes gangster and threatens him or her by saying “You signed this. You are on camera as having signed it. No refunds, lah!”
Pham Van Thoai, a Vietnamese tourist who had this scam pulled on him, is a factory worker who said he makes just US$200 a month.
Pham, 28, became so distraught he broke down in tears and actually got down on his knees and begged the shop to refund his purchase. The owner mocked him in a scene caught on video.
The sad video of the tourist begging went viral, prompting Singaporeans to raise funds to cover the man’s losses.
What’s more, the name and address of the unscrupulous salesman — a Mr. Jover Chow who lives on Henderson Road — was posted on the web alongside some less-than-flattering pics of the scammer.
The Singapore Straits Times reported that, as of 9 a.m. on Thursday, Singaporeans had raised S$12,938 (US$10,000) for Pham, and that Pham has refused to accept the money.
“I lost US$550. So I will accept only US$550 donated by kind people. Nothing more. I’m grateful for all your kindness but I do not want to take more than what I’ve lost,” he told the Chinese-language Lianhe Zaobao newspaper.
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