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A MAN posing as a customer has been caught on camera attempting to divert digital payments at a Kuala Lumpur restaurant by replacing the outlet’s official QR code with one linked to his own account.
The incident occurred on Monday at a restaurant owned by Datuk Mohamed Mosin Abdul Razak, Deputy President of the Malaysian Muslim Restaurant Owners Association (Presma).
According to Mohamed Mosin, the man entered the premises and ordered three packets of nasi lemak before quietly sticking his own QR code over the official payment code on the counter.
“The staff were busy preparing the order, and the man used that opportunity to place his QR code on the counter. He then claimed he needed to retrieve money from his car, but he never came back,” Sinar Harian cited Mohamed Mosin saying on Wednesday.
The scam came to light shortly afterwards when a customer attempted to pay for their meal, only for the transaction to fail to reflect in the restaurant’s account.
“My staff checked and found that a different QR code had been pasted over ours. Fortunately, it was spotted early, otherwise the losses could have been significant,” he said.
The man is believed to have made off with RM6.60 from that single transaction. Mohamed Mosin added that he had been informed of a similar incident at another outlet in Rawang the day before.
“Imagine if he managed to do this at dozens of restaurants — it could add up to a sizeable amount. I urge restaurant owners and cashiers to remain alert and regularly check their QR codes to prevent such fraud,” he warned.
A police report has since been lodged at the Taman Tun Dr Ismail police station. Authorities are investigating the incident and are expected to review CCTV footage to identify the suspect. - August 20, 2025