Fake restaurant websites that steal credit card details among new scams to hit S’pore’s F&B sector

SINGAPORE – Another Singapore food and beverage (F&B) establishment has been the target of a scam, adding to a spate of recent incidents affecting the local industry.

According to Dr Martin Bem, founder of microbrewery-restaurant LeVeL33 at Marina Bay Financial Centre, fake websites that are clones of its official one surface when customers google keywords such as “level33” and “reservation”.

Diners then proceed to make a reservation and key in credit card details (as a pre-authorisation hold, not charge) – which is regular booking procedure on the restaurant’s official website. 

Dr Bem was made aware of the incidents over the weekend, when diners showed up saying they had made reservations, although none were registered in the system. 

Some diners also flagged suspicious credit card activity where attempted charges of $200 to $2,000 were made. All charges were reported and blocked by the relevant credit card issuers, Dr Bem says. 

In his internal checks, he notes that these cloned websites appear as a top sponsored post in a search, but seem to operate only sporadically, as they can disappear and reappear later.  

While there was no financial damage, says Dr Bem, his purpose is to raise awareness of such scams, especially during the festive season when diners are likely to spend more and make large bookings.

He emphasises that LeVeL33’s official platforms – its website (level33.com.sg) and SevenRooms booking portal – have neither been breached nor hacked.  

Following the incident, he has made reports with the Cyber Security Agency, Google and police. Police investigations are ongoing.  

An Instagram post on LeVeL33’s Instagram account on Dec 10 cautions diners against scam cloned websites impersonating restaurant reservation sites and taking payment. 

It also highlights the need to check the URL in the browser, or make bookings over the phone instead. 

Dr Bem says: “This is a first for us, and we want businesses and consumers alike to be careful. It could happen to not only restaurants but also bars, hotels or spas, anything that requires an online reservation.” 

This incident comes on the back of other F&B-related scams. 

On Dec 5, The Straits Times reported on a hawker family losing $3,000 to scammers that accessed their food delivery accounts. 

And on Nov 7, chef Woo Wai Leong of fusion fine-dining Restaurant Ibid in North Canal Road lodged a police report on an alleged scammer seeking payment to take down a slew of bad Google reviews. Since then, he has not received any more threats from the alleged scammer.

On hearing about LeVeL33, he recalls an incident earlier in 2025 where a diner showed up at his restaurant to attend an event that she had paid for. 

The website was apparently legitimate, he says, but the “too good to be true” event was fake. The ticket price included a meal at his restaurant for a third of the original price. 

He says: “My takeaway from all this is that if you know of such incidents happening – especially to small businesses – don’t hesitate to support by dining there or helping to report. 

“It might take time, but you should keep reporting. Scammers cast a wide net. Once they realise you can push back, they will move on.”