Scammer pastes own QR code at nasi lemak stall, nets only RM6.60 before getting caught

GOING cashless is supposed to make things safer and faster. For one Kuala Lumpur restaurant, it nearly became a shortcut for fraud.

On Monday (August 18), a man walked into the restaurant owned by Datuk Mohamed Mosin Abdul Razak, Deputy President of the Malaysian Muslim Restaurant Owners Association, and ordered three packets of nasi lemak.

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While staff were busy preparing his order, the man quietly pulled out a QR code—his own—and pasted it on the restaurant’s payment counter, Sinar Harian reported.

“He then gave an excuse, saying he needed to get money from his car outside, but never returned,” Mohamed Mosin explained.

The scam only came to light when a customer made a payment, but the money never reached the restaurant’s account.

“The scam was only discovered when a customer made a payment, but the money didn’t go into the restaurant’s account.

“Upon checking, my staff found another QR code pasted on the counter,” he said.

In the end, the scammer only managed to pocket RM6.60 before being found out.

“Imagine if he placed his QR code at dozens of shops—how much he could have collected. I urge restaurant owners and operators to be more alert to avoid such incidents,” he said.

A police report has since been lodged at Taman Tun Dr Ismail police station.