In times such as the ones we now live in, there can be no denying that money is becoming ever more difficult to come by. With the prices of just about every basic necessity increasing as a consequence of the protracted COVID-19 global pandemic, many people are finding themselves having to scrimp and save in order to get by.
Migrant worker gets scammed out of RM1,000 when buying iPhone
But in spite of the challenges that so many of us face, there will continue to be unscrupulous individuals who are out to cheat others of their hard-earned savings, instead of trying to make an honest living for themselves. And unfortunately for one migrant worker, one such instance left him short of RM1,000 after he realised that the smartphone he had bought turned out to be nothing more than a slab of stone.
In a Facebook post recently shared by netizen Mr Low Jia Hao, he recounts how a migrant worker had visited his mobile phone kiosk in a mall, looking for help. According to him, the man had proudly claimed he managed to buy an iPhone, which he intends to send back to his homeland to his son. Unfortunately, the phone appeared to be suffering from a malfunction and refused to turn on.
And while one may be quick to assume that it could have something to do with an inoperable battery, the truth of the matter is far more sinister and upsetting. Upon cracking the phone open, it turns out that the device was a dummy that only contained a slab of stone within its case to give the illusion of weight. In other words, the migrant worker had been scammed out of RM1,000.
Upon realising that he had been duped, Mr Low said that tears immediately welled-up to his eyes and he appeared visibly distraught. The migrant worker claims that he had bought the mobile phone from a Mainland Chinese seller.
Netizens have chimed in to offer help
Many netizens have chimed in with sympathy for the migrant worker’s circumstances, going so far to even offer to help chip in and buy him a new phone.
“There are over 1.8k of us sharing this article. We could all donate RM1 to him to help recoup his losses. What do you guys think?”
Other netizens have also pointed out that this is a typical scam tactic.
“Those who work in mobile phone retail would have seen instances of this scam happening before. Customers would come to my shop, asking to buy a charger for a second-hand mobile phone they had just bought. But despite being plugged in, the phone would not charge. Upon opening the phone, all they found was a slab of stone.”
“Don’t tell me that when he bought his phone, he never turned it on to test it out. He’s clearly acting.”
“Scammers will usually provide a working device during testing. But the moment you hand the cash over, the phone that is packed and sold to you is in fact a dummy. Just wait for the day you get scammed yourself, and you’ll see how incredible their tactics can be.”
While others have reminded Malaysians not to be prejudiced against Mainland Chinese residents over incidents like these, or resort to stereotypes.
“Even though there are people like this from China, I don’t think we should be so prejudiced against them. For example, just because you ate some bad fruit today, that doesn’t mean all fruits are bad.”
Mr Liu has since declined all offers of donations over the incident and has since clarified that the matter has already been settled with the migrant worker.
“Dear netizens, I have managed to resolve this issue privately. We do not need any donations. Thank you for everyone’s kindness.”
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