Woman scans QR code at Jollibee for free ice cream, gets charged $8 mobile service subscription fee

A woman scanned a QR code at Jollibee for a free ice cream, only to find she had subscribed to a service that charged her $7.99 on her Singtel bill.

In a Facebook post on Saturday (Nov 9), user Andy Quek shared his wife's troubling experience at a Jollibee outlet in Waterway Point, which occurred on Nov 1. He stated that she had scanned a QR code placed at the counter, which promised free ice cream in exchange for completing a survey.

After entering her phone number, however, she discovered that she had unintentionally subscribed to a mobile service, leading to an unexpected charge of $7.99 to her Singtel bill.

Despite cancelling the subscription immediately, the charge still appeared on the account, prompting Quek to take further action.

Quek subsequently reached out to Jollibee's management on Facebook and Instagram and filed a police report.

According to the screenshots provided in the Facebook post, Jollibee has since acknowledged his complaint and stated that they will investigate the matter.

It was later added in the post that after contacting Singtel, Quek was offered a one-time waiver of the subscription fee but he declined, stating that he would be taking the matter up with Jollibee instead.

"Meanwhile I have contacted Singtel. They said they are able to do a one-time waiver. However, this is not right and not ethical as Singtel will be absorbing the charge, and the "scam" company will still get paid. Thus, I have asked Singtel not to waive the charge and will go after Jollibee. I have also made a police report already," wrote Quek.

Several netizens who commented on the post stated that from the photo uploaded, it seemed that another QR code could have been pasted over the original QR code.

One of the commenters also shared that the site that users were brought to after scanning the erroneous QR code was "full of red flags", highlighting that it's not the first time such scams have been perpetrated. 

AsiaOne has reached out to Jollibee and Quek for more information.

Woman lost $20,000 after scanning QR code 

In May 2023, a 60-year-old woman fell victim to a scam after scanning a QR code on a sticker at a bubble tea shop, which promised a free cup of milk tea for completing an online survey.

She downloaded a third-party app to participate, which allowed scammers to take over her phone, leading to a theft of $20,000 from her bank account.

The police and Cyber Security Agency of Singapore cautioned the public against downloading apps from suspicious sources, as these can introduce malware that compromises sensitive data, including bank details.

In 2022, the police also warned against scanning QR codes sent via unofficial channels following a wave of online survey scams which tricked victims into scanning Singpass QR codes. This allowed scammers access to their digital accounts.

ALSO READ: HDB letter with QR code for motorists to scan, pay parking fees - is it a scam?

crystal.tan@asiaone.com