An online Facebook user posted an incident of a dubious door-to-door fund raising campaign, whereby it was conducted by 2 youths, who presented a suspicious looking permit issued by local authority..
Upon some investigation online, it was discovered that the campaign had actually ended and the permit’s validity period was intentionally erased away to hide the illegal act.
*Note: All identities are masked to protect the privacy of all parties.
Below is the fund raising campaign material presented by the suspicious youths:
Here is the extract of the original post:
Door to Door donation drive scam
Pls be aware of such cases going on in your estate by some youths. Earlier today I encountered 2 youths claiming to be from Singapore Poly and doing D2D collections to raise funds for SingYouth Hub. They quickly raised a few eyebrows when i saw them holding on to “off the shelves’ receipts” which can be easily bought from any bookstore. I asked them to explain more about this donation drive and how I can donate. They merely told me i could just give any amount of money. However upon checking their permit which they happily produced. It shows discrepancies as the original name has been ‘blanco’ and written with another name. And he claimed that the licensee is him and he is the chief promoter. Both earlier claimed to be 17 and are currently students. How can one apply for this license? I told them what they did was not according to procedures. 2 red flags and they tried to convince me that what they did is legal and even tried to call their team leader. I told them to stop whatever they are doing right now and leave the premises. I asked them if what they did was right and they remained silent. I told them to ensure they know exactly what they are doing before they get themselves into trouble. You never know who you are talking to. Someone might know the law better than you.
Soon after, I decided to check online and found discrepancies and the fundraising has already been over since Sept 2019. And a quick call to SingYouth Hub to check, and true enough the campaign is over and the person in charge mention there are no collections today. A search online and you can check the validity of the real permit in the attached photo (which the youth conveniently ‘blanco’ it off.
Some points to note when giving out donations. As much as we love to contribute and help the needy. There are sadly too many scams.
1) Check the details of the event.
2) See their collection license permit. Original must be produced and cannot be tampered.
3) Ask them to identify themselves.
4) Receipts if any, got to have their organization indicated.
Remind the elderly at home not to simply give money to strangers without knowing what is going on.
*Pls beware of anyone going around your residential area looking for you to donate.
Note: Police has been informed of such activity.
Below is a photograph of the two suspicious youths conducting the fund raising campaign..
A comparison between the suspicious looking permit versus the original permit online, done by the Facebook user who posted the incident.
Always be careful of such scams or illegal fund raising or tactics nowadays, as it is on a rise in Singapore recently…
If in doubt, call the police immediately!
